Hidden Gems: Meet Christopher Costantino of Molisiana Foods DBA Costantino’s Kitchen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Costantino.

Christopher, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The matriarch of our family, Angie Mariani Costantino, was born in San Pietro Avellana, a small town in the Isernia province and the Molise Region of Italy. Just east of Rome, the town is on the border with the Abruzzo region, just below Monte Capraro (5700′) surrounded by forests of beech and oak trees and pinewoods, which make it a truly great tourist destination in the summer.

These recipes were taught to her by her mother, who learned them from her mother, also named Angiolina. Years after arriving in America, Angie taught her recipes to me, her grandson. After graduating from culinary school, I formed a company and starting bottling my grandmother’s recipe and I still follow her tradition by slow cooking my delicious sauces in order to deepen the flavor. No chemicals or preservatives are added to the sauce – only hard work and love.

In 2016, we took the next logical step in the evolution of our successful gourmet Italian food business and launched our mobile restaurant, Costantino’s Italian Kitchen. The truck serves authentic pasta dishes featuring our sauces as well as other Italian favorites. Our goal is to make some great food, share it with friends and have fun! We also offer catering services from the truck.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The first main struggle was finding a place to make the sauce. By law, it cannot be made in a home kitchen. Luckily, I was referred to Ken Smith at Sting n Linger Salsa, who has an FDA-approved facility in Tempe. He allows me to be hands-on in the cooking process, not jarring the sauces until I have tasted and personally approved each batch. To this day, I still consider him a mentor.

The next main struggle was getting distribution. At first, I was just selling it at Farmers Markets and small local stores. Then, I was introduced to the buyer at AJ’s, who agreed to put my sauce into one store. It was successful there and was expanded to all the stores.

The latest one was COVID. Our mobile restaurant focuses on corporations and large events. With the COVID scare, people were working from home and not having large get-togethers. However, on the sauce side, things did well. People were hoarding pasta and pasta sauce and the national brands could not keep up, so my sales during that time increased dramatically.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our sauce division produces gourmet, home-style pasta sauces from recipes that were taught to me by my grandmother. We still follow her tradition by slow-cooking our sauces in order to deepen the flavor. No chemicals or preservatives are added to the sauce – only hard work and love. All our sauces are gluten-free, no added sugar and, with the exception of our Puttanesca sauce, vegan. Our two most popular sauces, Grandma Angie’s Tomato/Basil and Arizona Arrabbiata (a slightly spicy alternative) are used on our truck. In addition, while there are numerous hamburger trucks or taco trucks, there are few successful Italian food trucks. We’ve been successful because people love our food and, in particular, my grandma‘s recipes. We offer an assortment of pasta types, sauces and toppings to accomodate any customer.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
If you or anyone you know has a business and would like to treat your employees to lunch, our mobile restaurant is available and we have a range of menus to accommodate all dietary restrictions, budgets and party sizes. We are also happy to cater any events you may be planning, from anniversaries to weddings to birthday parties to graduations to just simple get-togethers. Also, if you see us at an event, please come and say hello and grab some delicious pasta. Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook to find out where we’re going to be and other great information. Finally, when you’re in the mood to make pasta at home, please purchase our pasta sauce, either online via our website or at AJ’s Fine Foods.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.costantinosaz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/costantinositaliankitchen/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/costantinosaz
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CostantinosKitchen/playlists
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/costantinositaliankitchen/