ABOUT US
Tommy is from Pesaro, a small city on Italy’s East Coast, while Luisa grew up in Torino, in the beautiful region of Piemonte. In every Italian home, food is more than just nourishment — it’s a ritual, a way to show love, and a reason to gather.
Our childhoods were filled with the scent of fresh herbs and simmering sauces, the laughter of cousins, and the sound of rolling pins on flour-dusted tables. We both spent countless afternoons helping our Nonne shape pasta, while family and neighbours shared stories around the table. These early experiences left a lasting impression — they taught us that food has the power to bring people together.
That shared love of food eventually led Tommy to a career as a chef, and later, to become head chef at Ristorante Consorzio — one of Turin’s most acclaimed restaurants. In 2011, we made the big decision to leave Italy and move to New Zealand.
Here, we built something close to our hearts: Amaranto Pasta e Cucina, Auckland’s first Italian pasta food truck. A little slice of Italy on wheels, it’s our way of sharing the warmth, joy, and simplicity of Italian food with others.
Our food reflects the values we were raised with — fresh, seasonal ingredients, cooked with love and served with joy. We hope to share that love of food with you, wherever we meet.
Tommy e Lu
OUR FOOD
At Amaranto, everything is made from scratch by our head chef and co-owner, Tommaso Baldassarri.
With deep roots in Italian cuisine and a lifelong passion for pasta, Tommaso has poured years of experience into perfecting every detail — starting with the dough.
Our pasta is truly one of a kind. Made with a unique blend of gluten-free flours, the recipe took over a year to develop and has been lovingly refined over time. The result? A pasta with the satisfying texture of traditional wheat varieties and a warm, slightly nutty flavour reminiscent of wholemeal pasta — completely gluten-free, and absolutely delicious.
Alongside our pasta, you’ll often find two much-loved starters.
Pizzelle, a staple on our menu, were created during the Covid lockdown as an ode to Luisa’s childhood summers in Meta di Sorrento. And then there are our crowd favourites: arancini — crispy risotto balls with seasonal fillings — and our now-famous potato and mozzarella croquettes, golden and crunchy on the outside, soft and melty on the inside.
Last, but not least, our homemade desserts. Tiramisù, Chocolate and Hazelnuts mousse on cocoa sponga and panna cotta.
Every dish we serve reflects our love of Italian food, family traditions, and sharing simple pleasures with others.
OUR KITCHEN
Where Tradition meets Innovation.
Fresh, seasonal and free range ingredients are at the base of our preparations and we make everything from scratch. Where possible we use Italian and organic ingredients to maintain the most authentic flavour. Our recipes are a taste of family tradition with the innovation of being completely free from gluten. Our kitchen is medley of Piedmont, Marche and Campania, the three Italian Regions that have mostly influenced Tommy’s cooking.
Everything from our entree to our desserts (someone will say we make one of the best tiramisù in Auckland!) it’s homemade with love in our little caravan.
OUR PASTA
Our gluten-free pasta dough is made with care — and a whole lot of love.
At the heart of it is our special Amaranto flour mix, free-range eggs, and plenty of time and attention. It’s a process we’ve perfected to bring you pasta that’s every bit as satisfying as the traditional kind.
Ravioli are our heroes, but we’re also big fans of the springy bite of spaghetti and the way tagliatelle wraps perfectly around a rich Bolognese ragù.
Our flour blend includes corn flour, rice flour, potato starch, tapioca, glutinous rice flour and just a dash of coconut flour — along with fibre, organic vegetable gum, and a touch of extra virgin olive oil.
We’re proud to serve pasta that’s both nourishing and delicious — made without compromise, and always from the heart.
Now you can bring a taste of Amaranto a casa!
Our handcrafted pasta is now available to take home and cook whenever the craving strikes. It’s sold frozen to preserve its freshness and quality — just like we serve it from the truck.
You can find our pasta at:
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Charlie’s Gelato (Matakana)
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Bin Inn (Warkworth)
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Meditaste (Grey Lynn & Browns Bay)
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Origins Northland (Waipu)
…or straight from our food truck at any of our events!
ACASA
OUR SOURDOUGH BREAD
Created during the first lockdown in a moment of total boredom, our sourdough bread has been a winner right from the beginning. The flour mix that we use for our bread consist of starches (potato, corn and tapioca) and of proteic flours (rice, chickpeas and buckwheat), a little fiber and organic vegetable gum. Extra virgin olive oil, salt and water is all we add.
