Our People
WE'RE NOTHING WITHOUT FAMILY.
THE CONCEPT OF A FAMILY-RUN BUSINESS IS NO MORE CLEAR THAN HERE.
Started by Pino and Pia, their children Marco, Fabiano and Carla are the future of the business and a vital part of every day at the store.
PINO
It all started with Pino. Now widely regarded as an Australian food industry icon, Pino Tomini Foresti was born into the seventh generation of a butchery family in Terranova, Calabria in the south of Italy. By the time he was 8, he already possessed skills that would make most butchers these days blush. Moving to Australia at 16 and undertaking an apprenticeship to learn about the Australian industry, he opened his business over thirty years ago and hasn't looked back. Bringing traditional, age-old techniques to prime Australian produce, and sharing the amazing results with his loyal customers, he produces specialty smallgoods for some of Sydney's best restaurants and counts some of Australia's most celebrated chefs as loyal regulars and friends. Pino continues to share his passion and knowledge with the next generation of Pino's Dolce Vita, his children Carla, Fabiano and Marco, as well as with customers in the store and through masterclasses in the cooking school.
PIA
In many ways, Pia is the heart and soul of the business... they say behind every great man is an even greater woman, after all! The matriarch of such a formidable family means hard work, generosity and a lot of love. A year after Pia and Pino married, they started their business and together over more than three decades, they have built not only a business, but a reputation for producing the finest produce, using the best ingredients. Pia works tirelessly to create a warm and inviting atmosphere at Pino's Dolce Vita and always finds the time to share information with customers, who walk away with a smile... and a laden bag of treasures to cook at home.
FABIANO
The eldest of the three Tomini Foresti children, Fabiano grew up observing the traditional processes that make the family business unique, and constantly questioned how things were made and why. This natural curiosity led him to become a seasoned expert in the production of smallgoods at the store. Together with Pino, he is responsible for creating new and exciting flavours and recipes for sausages and smallgoods, which sit alongside the traditional offerings handed down from generations of experience.
MARCO
Marco started helping out at his parent's store from a young age, if nothing more than to keep himself out of trouble! After highschool, he studied business management and decided to join the family business in order to help achieve its full potential. Travelling to Italy to discover the origins of his family, he returned with a clear idea of what Pino's could become and set about making plans to renovate. Expanding the butchery into a food store, cafe and panino bar (paninoteca), the new offerings created a community hub and a home away from home. Marco's role at Pino's is that of operations manager, but in a small business, this also means his job description includes smallgoods maker, bookkeeper and customer greeter, too!
CARLA
As a teacher and with a background in nutrition, Carla brings her own brand of style and knowledge to the Pino's Dolce Vita experience. Spending her formative years at the apron of her mother, father and grandparents, at home and in the store, her accumulated experience and appreciation of the shared table is one she expresses in her classes. The experts she curates to teach at the cooking school share this same rich outlook on food education and with them comes a wealth of knowledge everyone can learn from.