NOT MADE in ITALY

“Nonna would never use a pre-made sauce, she’d make it in the summertime when the tomatoes were in season.”

Lucia’s

Pizza sauce, pasta sauce and tomato passata

Bottling summer’s best harvest of ripe Roma tomatoes has been a long-term job and legacy for Lucia’s Simon Bugeja. “Lucia was my nonna, and my grandfather Pasquale was a prisoner of war, who fought for Italy and got sent to Australia,” says Bugeja. “He eventually ended up in Shepparton growing tomatoes.” In 1953, when Lucia and Pasquale moved to Adelaide, they began cooking pizze and making their own tomato passata. Pizza was virtually unheard of in Adelaide, and there was nowhere to get quality passata. “Nonna would never use a pre-made sauce, she’d make it in the summertime when the tomatoes were in season.” Curious neighbours and friends, coupled with the global