Ivano Campagnoli was given the nickname ‘spaghetti pomodoro’ in primary school, and it stuck for many years. Then, after moving to Scotland in 2005, this shifted to ‘spaghetti head’.
It will come as no surprise to you that he is, in fact, a lover of the pasta.
Let me rephrase that, a lover of all things pasta.
Currently based in Glen Tanar, Ivano has built his business The Pasta Tree from the ground up, with the help of partner Sheila Zannoni.
The company officially launched in April to coincide with the opening of its new Aboyne warehouse. However, the owner started selling commercially at markets in June 2023.
The couple, both 44, worked in the catering industry for more than two decades, but the birth of The Pasta Tree had a lot to do with Ivano’s younger years.
How The Pasta Tree came to be…
“The Pasta Tree was born from my need as a head chef of a traditional Italian restaurant to serve the quality pasta my mother introduced me to when I was a kid, using Aberdeenshire ingredients for our latest restaurant The Green Inn,” says Ivano.
Prior to the business’ launch, he ran his own kitchen at the Ballater spot. When their work contract ceased at The Green Inn, the couple continued making pasta at home.
“I have tried different pasta brands, but have never been able to get the feeling, texture, and flavour of the pasta I grew up with. Some felt bland, others felt heavy or chewy, and some did not have a nice taste.”
Ivano discovered how flour and water influence the product, why bronze-die extruders are so highly ranked, and the drying process.
He added: “I learned that nearly all pasta makers use some sort of high temperature dryer to dry their pasta in very short times (from four to 18 hours).
“This did not make sense.
“The whole process to make pasta is pretty easy and straightforward, but what makes us unique is the way we dry it.
“It is not just slowly dried, it is dried naturally without the use of ovens. It takes us from three to five days depending on the Aboyne weather. For this reason, we manufacture following the forecast.
“Drying at low temperatures not only produces better pasta but also saves energy.
“And with pasta, you need sauces. For this, I follow the recipes I learned from my mum.”
From tagliatelle to maccheroni with Scottish beetroot, here’s what’s in the Aboyne business’ portfolio
The Pasta Tree currently offers roughly 10 varieties of pasta and three sauces. All ingredients are sourced locally when possible and (if available) are organic, Fairtrade, and/or biodynamic.
There are “plain and simple pastas” such as tagliatelle, maccheroni and caserecce.
Flavoured versions are available, too.
They feature Scottish ingredients like kale and beetroot from a farm in Ayrshire and cavolo nero and peas from Laurencekirk, as well as Spanish pimiento de la vera (hot smoked paprika) from Europe, and cuttlefish ink which is responsibly sourced from Spain.
The main flour (durum wheat semolina) is sourced from southern Italy, as UK production is very limited.
Ivano said: “To accompany this, we offer a classic tomato and basil passata, an intriguing puttanesca (based on Sicilian anchovies, capers and black olives) and a spicy nduja and red pepper sauce.”
The sauces are made with no added sugar and only use ethical Italian tomatoes from Naples.
The Pasta Tree has also started selling extra virgin olive oils from small-scale Italian producers.
Another part of the business is to manufacture pasta for third parties, including Camphill Community in Newton Dee using their own wheat.
“This is something that gives us great pride, helping our local community,” he said.
“The products are currently available in roughly 50 stockists in Scotland, online, at some farmers’ markets or – if you want to try them already cooked – at The Fish Shop in Ballater.
“It offers tagliarini with lobster which was mentioned in the Michelin guide this year.”
Sheila is currently employed at The Fish Shop. She previously ran her own gastro pub in Italy and Spain before moving to the UK where she headed the front-of-house at The Green Inn.
For the full list of stockists, visit The Pasta Tree’s Facebook page.
A week in the life of The Pasta Tree founder Ivano
Ivano is proud to use as many Scottish ingredients as possible.
Their flavoured pasta, in particular, is proving more popular by the day.
“The most popular is the maccheroni with beetroot, followed by our tagliatelle range as it always sells out,” adds Ivano.
“My favourite is the caserecce – either plain (with any sauce) or the hot smoked paprika ones. The latter, I love it with mussels, cherry tomatoes, shallots, garlic and white wine.
“I have one of the best pasta machines Italy can offer.
“With an eye to the past hundreds of years of pasta-making and the advent of innovative technology, I am now able to replicate this ancient drying process in enclosed environments, my drying pods.”
The business owner spends most weekdays in the warehouse between production, controlling the two operational drying pods (to double in number in the next month), packaging and dispatching.
Ivano spends his weekends at markets, leaving enough time to meet potential new customers and complete paperwork.
“And if we have some spare time, me and Sheila love to go out foraging for new exciting ingredients to create new pastas.”
‘We can express ourselves, and be appreciated for what we believe in too’
The Pasta Tree is showing no signs of slowing down, as Ivano has a lot of ideas up his sleeve.
“We do have a lot of plans in the pipeline: new shapes of pasta, new flavours – for pasta, sauces and adding more oils – I am a bit of an oil appassionato,” he said.
“But first we plan to double our stockists by the end of the year and hopefully we will be able to enter the restaurant business with the help of an established supplier.
“We are also planning to expand our packaging facility.
“We are currently talking with a few wheat growers to possibly transform their flour into pasta placing us into the manufacturing business entirely.”
Ivano went on: “What we love most about The Pasta Tree is that it is our business and is where we can express ourselves, and be appreciated for what we believe in too.”
The Pasta Tree is currently moving towards a plastic-free business entirely.
The packaging is already plastic-free and fully recyclable or compostable, and the cleaning products used are plant-based only.
Ivano is working with all his suppliers to eliminate plastic in the supply chain, too.
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