Created by husband and wife Raffaele and Madison Patrizi, Mano Bella Artisan Foods uses simple and pure ingredients to create authentic Italian food made by hand, fatto a mano, including pastas, breads, and snacks. After opening their business to the public this past February, Mano Bella has seen quick growth, working out of a ghost kitchen and selling their products at local markets. Raffaele works as the head chef, while Madison is responsible for creating the pastries as well as handling the administrative portion of their business. 

Before starting Mano Bella, the company’s owners lived on opposite sides of the world. That changed in 2013, when Madison was in Rome for a week doing research for her undergraduate thesis. One night, Madison was convinced to go out with girls from her hostel. They ended up going to a local club, where Madison met Raffaele as they danced to the last song of the night. The two spent the next five days together, becoming inseparable. The next four months, the two arranged many, many Skype dates. They dated for a year long distance until Raefelle proposed. The two immediately got married at the local courthouse, and less than one year after, celebrated a large wedding in the heart of Rome. 

Raffaele shares that like any young Italian son, his grandmother taught him how to cook.

“I always was watching behind her shoulder, and watched what she was doing,” Raffaele says. Later, Raffaele went to culinary school, and began working in professional kitchens. He eventually brought his skills to the United States, when he took a position as head chef at Mama Ricotta’s. 

Madison, however, hasn’t always worked in the kitchen — she studied project management and architecture at Notre Dame. She later worked as a waitress, then began to develop her pastry skills. The couple decided to open up Mano Bella after a difficult year amid the pandemic.

“We always wanted to have something of our own, something we could do together,” Madison says. “After this past year, we reevaluated our priorities and wanted to make our lives a little more meaningful.”

The two started out selling holiday gift baskets for friends and families. After selling out completely, they decided to rent a space at The City Kitch to increase production. Mano Bella was born. Since then, they have moved a new storefront, located at The Market at 7th Street in Uptown Charlotte where they currently make all items in addition to offering a dine-in pasta bar.

“We always knew it was going to be called Mano Bella,” Raffaele says. In Italian, Mano Bella means beautiful hand, which is what Raffaele would always say to Madison in the beginning of their relationship. 

The husband-and-wife team hopes to inspire a sense of community with a love for artisanal foods. For that reason, they choose to sell their fresh pastas and other Italian specialties at farmers markets, where they find that connection between consumers and artisanal foods. 

“It augments the feeling of community that already is local,” Madison says. 

To emphasize that goal of community,  Mano Bella products use ingredients mostly grown within 20 miles Charlotte.

“We really want our consumers to take away a truly authentic Italian experience — that means fresh, local, and artisanal food,” Raffaele says. These are core values that are typically ingrained in Italian cooking, along with taking the time to sit down and enjoy the food with others.

Initially offering handmade pastas, biscotti, and taralli (Italian sourdough crackers),  the Patrizis have expanded their line to include fresh-made mozzarella, a variety of Italian soups, heat-and-eat lasagnas, pesto and sauces, artisanal breads, Italian sausages, pastries, and other items.

You can order items online, in addition to purchasing at their Uptown storefront.  On Saturdays, Mano Bella sells at the South End Farmers Market, Uptown Farmers Market, Charlotte Regional Farmers Market, and Davidson Farmers Market. 

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