CHIARA & MATTEO
ABOUT US
Chiara and Matteo met over one of Chiara's famous ice-creams in Italy after years of friends telling them that they would be perfect for each other. Since that ice-cream, their lives connected and since March 2024 they are based in Malmö, Sweden.
Chiara Soban is an experienced Italian Pastry and Gelato Chef, who grew up in an historical Gelato shop owned by her parents in Piedmont, the Soban Gelato Shop founded in Valenza in 1924. The family company operates three shops, and Chiara opened and managed her own one in the North-East of Italy, in her hometown Trieste for over 5 years.
Even if the core business of the company has always been Gelato, she developed strongly the Italian Pastry segment, keeping the same philosophy of the Gelato: naturally good; 100% genuine and 100% natural, preparing the Gelato flavours with the most rigorous selection of ingredients, using only organic and natural products, by sourcing the ingredients directly from reputable suppliers with a special attention to seasonal and local flavors.
The family Soban together with Chiara has been nominated several times as one of the best Gelato shop (Gelateria) in the world, and won for several years in a row the prestigious “3 Coni” prize by Gambero Rosso given to Italy’s best Gelato shops.
In Christmas time, Chiara's sourdough Christmas Italian cake “Panettone” based on her recipe has been awarded several national prizes.
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After relocating to Sweden, she has been working as a Pastry Chef at the prized Olof Viktors in Glemminge.
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In the Food&Wine Lab, Chiara is the free creative spirit in charge of most of the cooking and pastry courses, as well as taking care of the flowers and the details around.
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"LESS IS MORE!"
Matteo Valencic is an Italian born sommelier, restaurant manager, bartender, and Hospitality Consultant, that lived in different cities in Italy, England and Sweden.
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In addition to having studied as a sommelier for two years at the Academy of Restaurants in Stockholm, he has been part of several training courses - as the “Sustainable Leadership” in Växjö - and participates annually as a sommelier judge at "Amphore: International Competition for Organic Wines" in Paris. Matteo has also been an ambassador in Sweden for the historical Tuscany’s vinery Mazzei, and have managed Matteo Konsult, a consulting company in the food and wine field, since August 2016, carrying out business projects, wine and food trips, cooking classes, wine tastings, private events. In addition, in the last years he has participated in several national and international competitions as a bartender.
In Sweden thanks to his passion for food and wine and his commitment to hospitality, Matteo has worked his way up from Linköping to Växjö, working as a Restaurant Manager for the rooftop bar and restaurant at the world-famous PM & Friends, the first enogastronomic hotel in Scandinavia which includes a Michelin starred restaurant and a wine cellar awarded by the Wine Spectator with the Grand Award for several years in a row, ranking it among the best 100 commercial wine cellar in the world.
Nowadays you can see Matteo pops up in some of the local Malmö's restaurants attending tables, still loving to work on the floor corking up bottles, even if most of his time is dedicated to his consulting company organising food&wine trips around the world or doing wine tastings for Buono Food&Wine Lab!
"NUNC EST BIBENDUM!"
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"NOW IS THE TIME TO DRINK!"
