... and, DULCIS IN FUNDO ... Dolce Aquileia

PLEASE NOTE! .... to read the history of the Dolce Aquileia in English or German scroll down!

Marcus Gavvius Apicius was a Roman patrician contemporary of Tiberius, he was one of the first gourmets in history interested in the finest culinary art and author of the first cookbook of which we have evidence, the "De re coquinaria", a collection of more than four hundred recipes and suggestions for the preparation of various dishes.

Apicius tells us that culinary passion reached its climax in Imperial times, and in sumptuous wealthy homes (such as the 'Domus di Tito Macro' in Aquileia) every feast, celebration or victory was a good reason to organise majestic banquets consisting of meat, fish, sweets and wine.

We are certain that on such lavish banquets a dessert like ours could not be missing, 'Dolce Aqvileia', a concentrate of walnuts, spelt and honey with a soft and creamy heart, enclosed in a crunchy pastry that, at every bite, throws you back into the Imperial Aquileia, making your visit at our place an unforgettable experience.

The ingredients, revisited in a modern key, reflect those in use at the time. Honey was certainly the sweetener par excellence and defrutum was often used as a condiment for sweet and savoury dishes, a sort of syrup obtained from a long process of boiling grape must that gradually became concentrated as a result of cooking and evaporation, giving rise to this precious nectar.

The ancient Romans wisely (and sustainably) used ingredients with a very contemporary vision of the food heritage. Moreover, at the end of sumptuous imperial banquets, guests would fill their linteum (large linen napkin) with the leftovers of the meal, together with small gifts (apophoretea) given to them by the host... a sort of 'doggy bag'.

So our DOLCE AQUILEIA represents MOSAICO-COCAMBO in a special way: it has ancient roots in the ingredients and in the vision of values we believe in: environmentally friendly, zero waste and circular economy.