Artisans of taste
Bbuono moved to Sarezzo, in Val Trompia, another Brescian valley overflowing with gastronomic excellence and typical products. We went to meet the Zani family, Claudio, his wife Susanna and their son Andrea, owners of an artisanal pizzeria-bakery born last 2017, Qbio – gli Artigiani del Gusto. One taste of their special Shortbread (more on that later) and they already struck our curiosity. We tell you their story.
We immediately meet Andrea, fresh winner of the competition reserved for pizza makers in the convention organized by RZ Service (a distribution company specializing in the world of food service) and congratulate him on his victory (one of the secrets of his winning was the wise use of sourdough starter), we then meet his father Claudio and mother Susanna.
Qbio’s story began in Sarezzo in 2017, (previously they ran Ciar de Luna also in Sarezzo, a place mentioned in a book that Slow Food Editore dedicated to the best slow food pizza in Brescia and province). Their basic philosophy is the use of local products and the continuous search for quality raw materials; their products are Roman-style pan pizza, bread, loaves with sourdough, brioches, rusks, and cookies.
The best cookies in the world
We ask Andrea how he came up with the idea of making Shortbread, cookies that originated in Scotland and not so much in Val Trompia. He tells us that during one of his experiences in New Zealand he happened to make these cookies, once back in Sarezzo he revisited the recipe and the result was excellent, a very tasty line of cookies.
Touted as the best cookies in the world, crumbly and thick to the point, perfect for breakfast, snack, with coffee or as a true Englishman with tea, Andrea gives us a taste of these cookies in various versions, original, ginger, chocolate chip, hazelnut and cinnamon, putting us on the spot about choosing the best version.
Quality and organic raw materials
Qbio’s choice to use raw materials stems from the need to know the producer of those materials to know how they work and how they produce, because their misuse is “like having the Ferrari and using it as a hatchback” you will never take full advantage of their quality.
This also includes their ethical profile, helping the companies of these products to survive, Slow Food presidia to be safeguarded, all with the future in mind, at least to begin with.
If you don’t at least start thinking a certain way, start and work a certain way, what future is left?
Organic, natural, zero km, so many discussions, deception is around the corner, apparent packaging, labels that are often bogus or incomplete, and poor information, which comes in small doses. But you have to start, and Qbio chooses organic flours, local products and continuous research that helps in the development of their project, new producers emerging on the market, who is left and what they do, a continuous contact that makes their products natural and tasty.
At Qbio you can also find fresh food, always organic when possible, for a lunch break, great leavened goods for celebrations, a selection of craft beers and strictly Italian wines.
The pan pizza is a delicacy, well worth tasting…and taking away, a dough with top-quality flours and leavened perfectly, as one review states “it’s like eating a cloud of crispness filled with wholesome, fine ingredients.”
For the future they have various plans including, we hope, a possible collaboration to develop a new and tasty natural product with Bbuono.
We leave Qbio’s satisfied and with a good supply of Shortbreads of various versions (just to gauge which one is the tastiest according to Bbuono, not because we have a sweet tooth!) and Roman-style pan pizza.
Why did we choose Qbio, the Artisans of Taste?
Their desire to look toward a natural future, to focus on local products, and to make their creations “just enough organic” is truly contagious. We could spend hours listening to Claudio and his stories about flours or about how he selects raw materials. We thank him for deciding to collaborate with Bbuono and for passing these values on to his son. Andrea, young and full of innovative ideas, revisits recipes while maintaining the philosophy inherited from his father (his undisputed mentor): the protection of tradition and typical products, pursuing the path of good and natural.
