The young couple serving edible flowers in a small restaurant in the largest Albanian colony in Puglia

Not everyone knows that in a small town in Puglia, not far from Taranto, lies the largest Albanian colony in Italy – San Marzano di San Giuseppe. It is here that a young couple has created an intriguing seasonal menu (featuring fresh flowers). An original way to bring spring and summer to the table…

Flowers on the menu

In the historic centre of the town, where even the street signs bear dual inscriptions (one in the Arbëreshë dialect), you’ll find Vez: a restaurant born from the passion of two young lovers, Mattia Eletto and Elisabetta Sapio. The cuisine usually ranges from traditional dishes (with a great focus on fresh handmade pasta prepared daily) to reinterpretations of recipes from North to South. Normally, zero-kilometre ingredients and seasonality are sourced from local farms and small producers around the restaurant – from the nearby dairy to the family butcher. But now, they come from the blooming meadows.

Mattia and Elisabetta’s dishes are filled with the colours and scents of wildflowers thanks to a full menu dedicated to blossoms, true protagonists to be tasted. Flowers that speak of the season and the land, incorporated into modern, minimalist dishes where just a few ingredients enhance each other.

Bright and playful dishes arrive at the table, such as spaghetti with smoked fish juice and hibiscus flower extract; fresh pasta “buttons” filled with ricotta and courgette, with a sunflower seed and black garlic foam. And there are also floral desserts: calendula (served on meringue, honey, lemon and almond), or lavender, in ice cream form on a swirl of cinnamon puff pastry and blueberries. Because if it’s true that seasonal is best, it’s equally true that when nature blooms, we shouldn’t just stop to admire it. And so the fun happens both in the kitchen and at the table.

From Puglia to Bologna and then back again

But what’s the story behind Vez? He was born in 1991, she in 1992 – a couple who have intertwined life and work, blending love for their land with experience gained elsewhere (he in the kitchen, she front of house). After years spent in Bologna, Mattia and Elisabetta decided to return to their roots and bring to life a project deeply grounded in the territory, but with a modern and innovative vision.

Theirs is a lovely idea that truly believes in the strength of the katundo – their small town (in Arbëreshë dialect), halfway between Italy and Albania.

Between the Itria Valley and the Ionian Coast

“We’ve created a new hashtag – #weareinkatundo – which we use often to further promote our territory and our roots. Our dream is for San Marzano to become a small stop on the food and wine tourism map of inland Puglia, midway between the Itria Valley and the Ionian coast,” they explain.

Situated in the historic centre of the town, the lovely outdoor terrace offers a charming view of the bell tower. The cuisine pays homage to Bologna – the city that shaped both their personal and professional growth – while also playing on a pun that captures the essence of the restaurant: the “old” transforming into the new.

Vez Ristorante – via Addolorata 7/9 – San Marzano di San Giuseppe (TA) – @Vez Ristorante