About us
When the Mastrantonio brand was founded in 1996, it was the vision of the founders, Gianni Mariano and Paolo Scalla, to bring the traditions and values of Italian cuisine to the South African market. At their core, for Gianni and Paolo, the principles of the Italian table are simple: honour the ingredients, balance of flavour, and honesty of the dish.
As members of the Italian diaspora in South Africa, this vision was in many ways fuelled by the classic recipes passed down from their mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles and grandparents – a family affair where the spirit of their descendants lives on through the shared experience of cooking, of passing recipes on to your loved-ones, and spending time around the table.
In Italian the word mestiere is often used to describe one’s line of work. However, there is a certain dignity to the word mestiere that cannot be fully translated. At Mastrantonio we see food services as our mestiere – preparing the highest quality food and passionately serving customers as our craft.
“where food and good living go hand in hand”
For the past 27 years, through collective experience, Mastrantonio has maintained its strength and authenticity. The result has been the development of a set of sub-brands that each fly the Mastrantonio flag into new areas of the food industry while forming strong partnerships across the supply chain.
Ultimately, at Mastrantonio, the experience of food, whether its fine dining or a grab and go meal, cannot be separated from a question of lifestyle, where food and good living go hand in hand.