Casa ltaliana Twenty years ago, it was difficult to find fresh pasta in Britain without going to an Italian restaurant. For this reason, Marco and Mariengeladi Bietro, owners of a small but busy Italian restaurant in the Scottish city of Glasgow, found themselves approached by a local Italian food store wanting to stock their pasta. Other foodstores followed this example and soon Marco and Mariangela were supplying them on a large scale as well as running a restaurant. But despite the long hours they were working, Marco and Mariangela did not consider changing career or moving from Scotland. It was only years later that they realised which business made more sense. So in 1981, Marco and Mariangela sold their restaurant, bought a former factory and moved to the English countryside. They both miss city life. Although suitable property in the country was cheaper than in the city, it was only the thought of trucks wasting hours driving from Scotland to customers in the south of England that persuaded the couple to make the move. At first, they sold only to small specialist food stores and were unwilling to supply any large supermarket chains. But developments in packaging, allowing pasta to stay fresh longer, persuaded them they were wrong and this market now buys the major part of Casa Italiana's output. However, their decision not to supply restaurants has remained unchanged: they feel they should sell food cooked on the premises as they did themselves. In the early stages of the business, clients were keen to have traditional pasta made in the Italian way. Now customers are demanding pasta influenced by the traditions of other countries. It is with some regret that Mariangela has developed a range of exciting new recipes. She feels that she cooked her best pasta in the early days. What are Marco's and Mariangela's roles nowadays? Although Marco has tried to encourage Mariangela to leave food production to employees and spend more time dealing with clients, she remains in charge of the kitchen. Marco is happy to be responsible for the financial and administrative side of affairs. Marco dreams of launching restaurants sharing the Casa Italiana name across the UK. Yet he knows it would be more profitable to set up a second production centre. While the couple consider their long-term options, Mariangela is realising her dream: places on the first Casa Italiana cookery course are about to be advertised. But who knows? The Casa Italiana brand is already so strong that little can prevent Marco from also satisfying his ambitions for the firm. Why did Marco and Mariangela give up their restaurant and start a pasta business?