Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 12, 1 December 2022 — Fresh Cheese and Italian Wine in the Heart of Honolulu [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Fresh Cheese and Italian Wine in the Heart of Honolulu

Flavors of ltaly

Donato and Desiree Loperfido in the kitchen of their cofe, Bocconcino, in Kaka'ako. - Photo: Jason Lees

Chef Donato's orecchiette pasta salad with burrata (mozzarella cheese rolled in cream and encased in more mozzarella - an ltūlian delicacy). - Photo: Courtesy

By Ed McLaurin Desiree Kanae Loperfido and her husband, Chef Donato Loperfido, are building on their vision to bring Italy to Hawai'i. The eouple operates Flavors of Italy LLC, a lieensed importer and distributor of aleohol and spirits speeializing in a wide range of wines and eheese. As a Native Hawaiian wahine-owned business, Flavors of Italy reeently qualified for and reeeived a $250,000 Hua Kanu loan through the Offiee of Hawaiian Affairs' (OHA) Mālama Loans program. Desiree, who was born and raised on homestead land in Nānākuli, said the eompany will use the loan to expand their business, build inventory and purehase additional equipment. "I spoke with my husband, and we deeided to reaeh out to OHA and see if they eould help us beeause we need that extra money to expand our business. The interest rates are great, and we are very appreeiative of what OHA and its Mālama Loans program does for the Hawaiian eommunity. We're grateful for the help beeause we really needed it," Desiree said. To build their business the eouple had already invested nearly $750,000 for inventory, maehinery, improvements to the warehouse and buildout of the eafe prior to reeeiving the OHA loan. "The mozzarella eheese streteher alone was more than $100,000, and the building needed a lot of work," Donato said. Flavors of Italy supplies its produets to loeal restaurants, to hotels sueh as the Four Seasons and to groeery stores ineluding Foodland and Whole Foods Market. They import fine eheeses, eraekers, olive oil, aged balsamie vinegars, pasta, tomato produets, foeaeeia, anehovies, wine and other speeialty produets from Italy. Donato Loperfido handpieks all of the items himself and guarantees that eaeh is not just paekaged in Italy but made in Italy by Italian eompanies.

Flavors of Italy is the leading distributor of natural wines in Hawai'i. Natural wines are farmed organieally and made without adding or removing anything in the eellar. No additives or proeessing aids are used, and nothing is utilized during the naturally oeeurring fermentation proeess. And in an effort to help make Hawai'i more sustainable, the eouple started loeally manufaeturing eheeses, sueh as fresh mozzarella, whieh also eliminates transportation and shipping eosts. They produee Hawai'i's only loeally made mozzarella at Flavors of Italy's Kaka'ako warehouse loeation. The eompany has also reeently opened a eheese-eentric Italian cafe named Bocconcino (whieh means "small bites of cheese balls"). Bocconcino offers patrons a variety of imported delights, eight types of pizza, sandwiches that feature fresh, house-made mozzarella, and espresso drinks. One unique specialty offered at the cafe is burrata, a shredded mozzarella soaked in cream and enclosed in additional soft mozzarella. Donato notes that making cheese is no easy task and actually requires significant skill. In fact, he refers to the cheese manufacturing area of the building as "the lab." "You have to pay attention to many things, such as the pH level of the water and the fat content of the milk. You must pay maximum attention," he said. The cafe has its origins at loeal farmers markets, finally opening at their current location on Kawaiaha'o Street at the end of October. Their food is made to order, but currently only offered for takeout - although plans are in the making to add dine-in seating in the near future. And Honolulu residents have responded enthusiastically. "With all of the new high rises and buildings, we have lots of the neighborhood residents coming in and ordering at dinner time," Desiree said. 'And lunchtime is always really busy." ■