The story starts…
Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Nina and Cesare were strongly influenced by traditions of their Italian immigrant family, who moved to Canada after the second world war. They taught Nina and Cesare the importance of family gatherings; whether large or small each one is special. They were shown that food was not only to provide, but rather an opportunity each day to gather family and friends. So they would spend countless hours with their grandmothers, watching, tasting and listening to them in preparation of the next gathering. In their late teens, they went to Italy to learn more about their roots in hopes to one day bring their studies back to Canada.
In May 2019 they opened Farinella in Ottawa’s Little Italy. It offers artisanal gelato as well as the city’s first ever pizza al taglio pizzeria. Pizza al taglio, Italian for "pizza by the slice", is a Roman-style pizza by the meter or sold by weight. The gelato Nina came to perfect is a mix of classic italian flavours and is made fresh, daily, without food colouring, additives or preservatives.
Nina
Cesare
After Cesare completed his course he spent 9 months looking for an apprenticeship in any restaurant, bakery, cheese making factory, butcher shop or even a farm. It wasn’t until he contacted a friend of a friend of a friend who then put him in touch with Antico Forno Roscioli in downtown Rome, ultimately changing his life.
In September 2014 Cesare showed up at the bakery with no place to live, and virtually no money. He was given a maximum of 2 weeks to shadow in the pizzeria. It turned into a two month stay to him working full time in one of the oldest bakeries in the city where he then worked for the next three years. Starting as a pizzaiolo’s assitstant, Cesare worked his way up from simply opening cans of tomatoes to running the baking program. Roscioli gave him the opportunity to encounter some of the greatest chefs and bakers in the world. Cesare had different potential opportunities, but turned it down to return home in September 2017. This is when he teamed up with sister to open Farinella.
Quickly after Nina finished her 6 month course she began to search for opportunities in Perugia. In May 2014 after a difficult search Nina found herself at one of the cities most popular establishments, Menchetti.
Menchetti was not only a gelateria but also a pizzeria, coffee shop, restaurant, bakery and bar. Nina began as a Gelateria, working long hours. She was thrown into a fast paced environment with intermediate Italian speaking, forcing her to learn quickly. At 19 years old, after six months of working for Menchetti, she was promoted to head gelatieria and general manager. Nina worked hard for the next 3 years at this establishment.
After 3 years, Nina decided that it was time for the next step to return to Ottawa in October 2016 to begin plans of opening her own business.
Farinella Opens
