Our Story

“As a child in Southern Italy, I grew up in a world of honest, simple and delicious food”

While life took me around the world and my career as an investment professional got me to experience food in its extremes, from cold pizza at 3am to Michelin starred restaurants, my family has always pulled me back to my childhood home and the wonderful Italian cooking I grew up with.

My fondest memories are of father-daughter trips to the local latteria, the name inspiration for my brand. We would buy my favourite mozzarella and rush home to devour this delightful, creamy cheese. My father and I would play a game where we would make holes in the mozzarella with a fork. The mozzarella was so fresh, the whey would pour out of the little holes and we would just sit there and watch it come out. It was better than an ice cream!

The UK is now my home and, as a mother of twins living in Notting Hill, I want to bring the world of authentic Italian food to my children. What better city to do this in than London with its vibrant culinary traditions! In my opinion, London is the ultimate place for Italian cuisine outside of Italy. It is also the perfect location to marry my favourite (and most delectable) parts of childhood with amazing local talent and ingredients.

And that is where you may think my story ends but it is just the beginning…

For all the amazing culinary experiences you can have in London, what I was missing most and what I did not want my children to miss was the authentic experience of Italian cheeses. It is the experience of ultimate freshness, taste and texture. One where the warmth of the cheese is still felt through the packaging because it has just been made by the “casaro”. An experience where the cheese is so soft and deliciously creamy that simply thinking of it will make your mouth water!

So what if you cannot find it? Wait for your parents’ or friends’ visits few times a year and enjoy that little sealed bag full of “nodini” and “ciliegine” devoured before they have even managed to unpack? I did that for few years but it is not the same.

So if you cannot find it, make it – right? Well, sort of. It is not as easy as one may think…

I called my cousin Enrico, who has been making one of the most delicious and mouth watering cheeses in Milan for over 15 years and convinced him to come to London with one of his artisans for a visit. The trip started with a fabulous day of making cheese for my children in my kitchen.

As my cousin and one of his “casari” were here, why not throw an impromptu mozzarella party to give my friends a first hand taste of my childhood? It was my friends’ reaction that special evening that made me think this could be a real business and that is how La Latteria was born.

My goal in creating La Latteria is to bring the true experience of authentic Italian cheeses to the UK. The skill and artisanry of creating something delicious in front of your eyes from a most basic ingredient: milk.

At La Latteria, we are committed to sourcing all ingredients from trusted farmers who we share our values of authenticity and genuineness, organically where possible, and to creating jobs locally by bringing Italian production knowledge and expertise to the UK.

“I hope you love our products”

About The Founder

Simona di Vietri was born in 1976 in Italy. After studying at LUISS, Simona went into a career in Finance working around the world including 6 years in the Middle East. Simona now lives in London with her twins, Sofia and Samuel. Simona’s family has a successful business focused on high quality artisanal products (including fresh cheeses) in Italy and that is the inspiration for the creation of La Latteria.