OUR STORY
Carmelo and George met at an international food show in Paris in 2012. Both are seasoned professionals in the nut industry but more importantly, both have a curious passion for all things nuts that go beyond the call of duty.
They have become buddies since then and during the summer of 2013, they experimented with a special pistachio paste recipe for commercial chefs and bakers. This was launched in February 2014 and they soon realised they have created a unique product.
A dream was born
Both nutty guys agreed that a range of artisan nut pastes and creams would be perfect for foodies who love to bake and make ice creams. A dream was born but the challenge was to choose which ones would create the biggest smile. After many months of deliberation and visits to Sicily looking at nut trees, participating in the harvest, meeting nut growers who would have to be as committed to quality as they were, the big decision to embrace the dream was taken in September 2015.
In April 2016, The Nut Kitchen was born.
Meet Carmelo
Carmelo is the cool Sicilian in this partnership. He comes from a family that has been involved in the nut processing business for 30 years. Educated in England and in his hometown in Sicily, he has since been tasked with running the family business and is instrumental in taking the company forward into the 21st century. He’s a self-confessed workaholic working the metric week of 30 hours a day 10 days a week, loves coffee, granita and cornetto stuffed with nut paste but admits that spending quality time with his young family is at the top of his priority list.
Meet George
The calm Englishman, George runs a successful consultancy that specialises in the marketing of fruit and nuts. As a child, he started to learn his craft from his weekly visits to London’s Covent Garden market. And now with a lifetime of experience marketing fruits and nuts around the world, he has cultivated an appreciation of the wonderful and diverse food culture each country has. His weakness: a sweet tooth and love for gelato that makes him giggle inside even before the first slurp.