Tawnya Bahr and Lucy Allon from Straight To The Source showcase Master Butcher Pino Tomini-Foresti and his renowned butchery, Pino’s Dolce Vita for this week’s Food Trends column.
The first butchery masterclass we hosted ten plus years ago was at Pino’s Dolce Vita. It was an off-the-charts offal masterclass that chefs talk about to this day because it was so educational and inspiring. If you have a butchery question all you need to do is ask Pino!
A seventh-generation butcher, Pino has long emphasised locally-sourced meat and traditional, European techniques. Immigrating to Australia as a teenager, he founded Pino’s Dolce Vita in the late 1970s and has been producing artisan sausages, prime meat cuts, handmade smallgoods and deli goods ever since.
The business started as a local butcher shop servicing the local community with fresh meat and some specialty, Italian-style salami made in small batches. As Pino’s reputation spread, the business adapted to deal with the demand from many of Sydney’s finest chefs, wanting to use Pino’s specialities on their menus. Pino’s is now a purpose-built, state-of-the-art production facility in Kingsgrove, as the wholesale demands on the Kogarah shop were too great.
Pino’s Dolce Vita smallgoods are available all along the eastern seaboard. And for foodservice, the business offers a highly specialised service. They make custom salami, sausages, prepare specialty cuts of meat and provide advice. They have very close relationships with chefs and their cult-like following of customers so they can provide them precisely what they need.
Looking to the future, it has been a natural progression for Pino’s Dolce Vita to evaluate its ‘eco’ credentials and strive to constantly improve its environmental impact. They have a huge interest in sustainable farming practices, carbon sequestration in soil, zero emissions, environmentally-friendly packaging, working with suppliers to implement processes that will reduce packaging, and maintaining their high standards, making their range very attractive for like-minded Club operators looking to follow suit.
Find out more about this quality driven family-run business here.