MATEO ZIELONKA: THE PASTA MAN Words Jo Denbury Photography Katharine Davies
I
t is a wet and foggy morning as I drive to meet Mateo Zielonka, accompanied by a torrid 40-mile-an-hour wind and horizontal rain now so commonplace in our Dorset winters that I won’t dwell on it. On arrival, the sanctity and calm of Mateo’s newly renovated kitchen offers a warm, dry welcome. We are enveloped by the smooth lines that only Corian work surfaces can provide – a surface well-suited to the work of Dorset’s very own Pasta Man. During ‘Lockdown I’ many of us found sanctuary in our kitchens – a place to occupy our minds, hands and simply pass the time. Food trends became crazes, fuelled by social media and our longing to connect with others. One such trend was handmade pasta. Its potential for experimenting with shape, colour, and flavour is endless, and the dexterous creativity proved addictive. Across the globe, hands were kneading and rolling in a joyful bid to achieve a garganelli, cappelletti, farfalle or pappardelle worthy of the ravenous ranks on Instagram. It was a strangely compelling movement and Matt, as he prefers to be called, was at its forefront. >
70 | Sherborne Times | February 2022
