december-2011

FABRIZIO AND THE
CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Fabrizio De Mauro has turned his family’s confectionery
factory into a chocolate paradise combining café, concept
store and restaurant. It’s the perfect sweet treat for winter
Most Rome guidebooks
won’t suggest a tour of
the San Lorenzo
district. There are too many
other attractions in the Italian
capital that rank higher on a list
of must-sees. Nevertheless, if
you are looking for the authentic
Rome, this student haunt will
satisfy the urge for a little low
culture. Especially if you have a
sweet tooth. For here you’ll fi nd
a haven for chocolate lovers, the
Società Azioni Industria
Dolciaria, or SAID.
You’ ll fi nd the entrance to
this old chocolate factory just off
Via Tiburtina, San Lorenzo’s
main drag, in a classic Roman
courtyard. It opened in 1923 and
is today run by the grandson of
one of the original founders,
Fabrizio De Mauro. Originally
the company’s main activity was
the production of torrone – the
traditional Italian almond cake
– various kinds of candy,
caramels and chocolate.
“Everything was produced right
here,” Fabrizio says as he points
to the back of the store.
After World War II
confectionery was hit hard, and
the company started producing
ready-made packages of chocolate,
which were sold at weddings and
other important family events.
Then in 2004 SAID changed
forever when Fabrizio decided to
turn the factory into a trendy
chocolate bar.
The gorgeous fragrance and
warmth of the store hit you as
64—GW
R O M E
soon as you enter, especially in
winter, when you step inside
from the cold back yard and are
instantly transported into a
cocoa universe. Jazz music
welcomes you, a myriad of
tempting chocolate fl avours
beckon.
“We wanted to create
something completely new that
is a mixture of modern concept
store and museum,” says
Fabrizio, referring to the old
back rooms where you can see
the antique machinery of the old
chocolate factory. “When we
started to develop the factory
into a chocolate café, it was with
the awareness that today the
average customer buying
chocolate is far more
demanding. People want to
know how products are made
and care about quality
ingredients. So our aim was to
give the customer a sort of
‘holistic experience’, involving
more than the sense of taste. It’s
also about a positive visual
experience. For that reason we
are very attentive to the
packaging. You’ll fi nd the same
trend with French and Belgian
chocolatiers. At the same time
we have been very careful to
maintain the Italian tradition
in the selection of raw
ingredients.”
In the main room each table
glistens with an abundance of
neatly wrapped chocolates with
fl avours ranging from olive,
cardamom, sage, rosemary and
red pepper to orange, lemon,
mandarin and honey.
“Our production is based on
old recipes that have been
interpreted in a modern way,”
says Fabrizio. “In the same way
an oenologist develops fi ne
wine, a chocolatier invents new
recipes through hundreds of
tastings. Just as with wine, every
kind of chocolate must release a
series of diff erent fl avours.”
The most important
ingredient in SAID’s output is
what Fabrizio calls “the pinnacle
in terms of quality”, namely his
dark chocolate. This chocolate is
imported from a number of
Latin American countries,
notably Venezuela. It’s the same
quality cacao that was imported
to Europe for the fi rst time in
1528 and wasn’t terribly popular
to begin with. Then honey and
cane sugar were added, and
chocolate has enjoyed success
across the world ever since.
While this favourite among
guilty pleasures may be full of
saturated fat, research has shown
that chocolate also contains
many healthy ingredients. It is
rich in iron, contains potassium,
which has a positive eff ect on our
blood pressure, and magnesium,
which also contributes to vital
functions. In addition, you’ll fi nd
proteins, fi bres and certain
unsaturated sebacic acids in
chocolate. It also contains
phenylethylamine, which may
have a positive infl uence on
our mood.
Not surprisingly, SAID’s
interpretation of how chocolate
should be enjoyed goes beyond
the traditional use of cacao in
the kitchen. Since 2007 SAID
also houses a restaurant.
“We decided to show that
chocolate should not be limited
to the traditional use in sweets,
cakes and in desserts,” says
Fabrizio. “We have therefore
devised a menu where
traditional Italian dishes are
reinterpreted. Courses include
tonnarelli pasta with pieces of
pear, Roman pecorino cheese
and chocolate or, as a main
course, roast beef prepared with
a special chocolate sauce.”
Strangely enough, at SAID
there is a decrease in the demand
for the traditional desserts. “This
is due to the fact that most of our
guests prefer to have their dessert
‘designed’ at our cocoa bar,” says
Fabrizio. “The guests come and
point out what kind of chocolate
they would like in their
personalised dessert.”
After this very diff erent taste
experience – pasta or meat with
chocolate, anyone? – you can
sink into one of SAID’s
Chesterfi eld sofas. Or you could
go to the living room where you
can explore the chocolate library
while spooning down your
personalised dessert.
Chocolate heaven? Oh yes.
SAID
Via Tiburtina 135, 00185 Rome,
+39 06 446 9204, www.said.it