Italianeese

Italianeese’s fluffy, melty rolls are a cheese lover’s dream. As Tier 3 restrictions in Sheffield loom, I’d highly recommend treating yourself to a box to cheer yourself up.

I had the pleasure of chatting to co-founder Gabi to hear more about Italianeese and their mission to be as environmentally-friendly and sustainable as possible.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what inspired you to start Italianeese.

We started making our Italianeese rolls because we couldn’t find them anywhere in the UK. Co-founder Rogerio grew up in Rio, Brazil and would always eat these delicious, savoury rolls after school or after a day at the beach. He is a graphic designer and a baker, working in both professions. We started Italianeese together and I run the business. Our logo is inspired by our son, who has the most wonderful curly locks.

We work like a bakery but specialise in making Italianeese. We are vegan and vegetarian and our goal is to always contribute to our community and to society. We work with local suppliers, using organic goods wherever possible. We don’t have a client-facing shop so we deliver through Sheffield Made and hopefully from November we’ll also be delivering via City Grab.

For folks who haven't yet had the pleasure of enjoying your rolls, what can they look forward to?

It's fluffy. It's cheesy. That’s basically it.

Our dough is made with vegan, organic ingredients, hand-rolled with onions and vegan or non-vegan cheese. Then it's all baked and topped with vegan or non-vegan egg wash and organic oregano.

Our customers always say they love the smell. When a box is delivered, you can tell it's Italianeese from the delicious smell that emanates from the warm, freshly-baked box of fluffy delights.

Italianeese is great for sharing or eating as a snack. We find that many of our orders have taken the place of a pizza, because it can easily be shared and is very filling.

It's a tough time for indie traders everywhere. How have you been weathering the Covid storm?

Well, we opened just before the pandemic, so we decided to focus online only. It has shaped our business and we are happy to have been able to adapt.

There's a big trend for home deliveries at the moment. How can people get your rolls delivered directly to their door?

You can order Italianeese by visiting Sheffield Made’s website.

Sustainability is an important focus for you. What are you doing to minimise Italianeese's impact on the environment?

From the start, we knew that we wanted our business to have a positive impact both on people and the environment. We are keeping our suppliers and ingredients local, meaning we support our local economy and keep CO2 emissions as low as possible. Our packaging is plant-based and recyclable and we always have our environmental impact in mind, working to do our bit to help prevent climate change.

And finally, what are your plans for the future?

We’ve been getting messages from people in Leeds, Manchester and London who would like to try Italianeese, so we'd like to branch out to other areas of the UK by creating 'mini bakeries' or partnering with existing bakeries that can be trained to make our Italianeese. We would also like to work together with shops, cafés and other entrepreneurs to bring Italianeese to everyone in the UK.