Silvia Martini - Italy

Nestled in the Langhe foothills, just down the road from Barolo producer Aldo Clerico, Silvia Martini farms one of the most iconic crops of Piedmont, aside from wine that is: Hazelnuts.

While she may have started out her company just farming and tending hazelnut groves, she soon discovered a passion for working with the hazelnuts themselves, turning them into delicious treats. She runs not only a farm, but a storefront, pastry shop, and full laboratory to turn her hazelnuts into both sweet and salty gourmet foods ranging from hazelnut creams (think small batch, super delicious artisanal versions of Nutella), candies, pastas and sauces, and so much more. She describes her business as an “agripasticceria” meaning that she is both a farmer as well as creating bakery and pastry products.

A true entrepreneur, she also hosts hazelnut tasting workshops and offers pastry classes with Italian masters, all from her kitchen in Monchiero, Italy. She works exclusively with the Nocciola Trilobata, or a special kind of hazelnut that is protected under government law as the Nocciola Piemonte I.G.P. delle Langhe.

Silvia believes in preserving her natural groves, and farms organically and following regenerative agricultural techniques.