We met with Roberto Rinaldini, an award-winning chef and the pastry chef and founder of Rinaldini Pastry S.p.A, a company that represents Italian artisan excellence in the pastry and gastronomy sector. With their culinary art boutiques and 360-degree production, Rinaldini represents a reference point for professionals in the Ho.Re.Ca world and for anyone who wants to experience a unique and exclusive pastry & food experience.
Today, we will find out more about their artisanal approach, unique and elegant style.
How did the idea of creating Casa Rinaldini come about and what is your main mission?
In 2017, the company became a joint stock company with the entry of Micaela Dionigi, a well-known Rimini entrepreneur. Fulcrum of the expansion project comes with Casa Rinaldini, the unique production hub in Europe, with 3,600 square meters divided into pastry, chocolate, cooking, and baking workshops.
Each department has an independent team, and the workforce consists of more than 45 employees with more than 50% pink quota.
Two managers, for the sweet and savory side, supervised by myself. The facility produces an extensive catalogue of products for point-of sale, online and ho.re.ca. offerings. The goal? To bring to all these supply chains the concept of quality craftsmanship, with the security of a large production hub.
What is your offering for the Ho.re.ca Channel?
The Mastery of the brand is declined through this avant-garde venue in a new and exclusive line of products dedicated to Catering.
An experiential journey certified by the important Rinaldini know-how that engages and transports into a world that anyone can easily replicate thanks to the precise technical data sheets that accompany the products.
The Food Experience line, unique in style and philosophy, thus encompasses many preparations embracing every gastronomic nuance (appetizers, starters, main courses and various bakery offerings). They only require regeneration and/or cooking optimizing preparation time with the guarantee of a certain food cost and the added advantage of containing waste.
The Pastry Experience line features my creations: from the MacaRAL world – a personal version of French macarons – to mignons, mono portions and haute patisserie cakes, to breakfast leavened goods.
The Chocolate & Co experience line declined in chocolate proposals: true works of art handcrafted in chocolate, fashionable products for gifts, decorated cookies, shelf-stable “pastry a porter” products to large leavened goods for the holidays.
How have you developed your product range and how do you differentiate yourself from the competition?
Since the beginning of my career, I have chosen to align the role of a pastry chef with the canons of haute couture, both in the way, I present myself – from my elegant uniform and always impeccable – and in my creations: elegant desserts, beautiful to look at, structured and, of course, rich in taste. The research and development of new references still go in this direction and have become a kind of “trademark” of the Rinaldini brand. To me the task of designing and creating new products, decid-ing on names, and differentiating between taste, graphics and packaging, according to channels and holidays.
In a standardized and globalized market, how important is it to put forward the style and vision of an award-winning master like Roberto Rinaldini?
It means meeting the tastes of an international audience, which seeks experience as well as a good product. Our recipes are carefully crafted and designed to meet what a customer wants today. Excellent, beautiful products to be consumed in beautifully designed environments or taken home in sophisticated packaging. In the experience – consuming and buying – with Rinaldini nothing is left to chance.
We could call your outlets, true palate boutiques. Can you tell us what your clientele finds when they enter your stores?
Assortment, high quality, impeccable service and… beauty. In the Rinaldini-branded stores, the experience is three hundred and sixty degrees, ranging from breakfast to after-dinner bistro moments at lunch and dinner, snacks, ice cream and more. A range unparalleled in variety and quality: every course, sweet or savory, is curated, studied and prepared down to the smallest detail.
Retail, but not only. You have an established presence in catering services, custom pastry, Ho.Re.Ca supplies and more. Can you tell us in more detail about the differentiation of your offerings?
Casa Rinaldini’s production capacity can meet different needs. The products in the catalog are countless both pastry and food, designed for the Ho.Re.Ca sector and third-party sales, but also for catering and more. As a chef and master pastry chef, I envisioned an across-the-board offering that could encapsulate the entire luxury experience of a high-end dessert (or dish), with attention to detail, but with the numbers and food safety of a large production center.
High-quality products with selected ingredients that need the utmost care. How do you manage the online sale of your products?
We try to give the same reliability and service that we would give over the counter. Products purchased through e-commerce are suitable for shipping, which we take care of in detail so that each customer receives the product intact. We choose fast and safe deliveries so that the chosen reference remains in transit as little as possible.
Are there also products in your offering that are targeted to customers who are sensitive to certain types of allergens?
Certainly, both in the catalog for Ho.Re.Ca supplies and on our premises, there are many veg or free-from references. The public is changing, and so is its demand: we want to respond to each request in the best way while maintaining the highest quality and taste experience.
What are your future prospects for expanding your business and consolidating your success?”
For the immediate future, we are aiming for growth in the online market: with rinaldinipastry.com we are steadily increasing sales. Also, on the retail side, we are opening a new 150-square-meter Rinaldini store at Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Fiumicino, in the area of the new boarding pier.
In addition, an ambitious project with a new brand, Roberto Rinaldini Gelato e Macaron, is about to be born: a smaller format of about 60 square meters that we will soon open in several outlet stores, as well as malls and city centers. The focus will be freshly whipped artisanal ice cream every day (also offered in croissants!) and express crepes, made on the spot with a special recipe.
We thank Roberto Rinaldini for this very interesting interview and for offering us an in-depth look into their world of artisanal excellence. We were very impressed with their dedication to quality and creativity, and we are confident that their unique and elegant style will continue to captivate their large customer base. Rinaldini thus becomes the major reference among the offerings available on the market thanks to the highest quality, careful research and strong innovation.
