From the Mattei family business to their own signature
Biscottificio Deseo was founded in 2001 in Prato: Francesco Pandolfini, driven by his passion for cooking and the art of confectionery, made his wish for his own studio come true. Pandolfini comes from a family that has been producing biscotti for four generations and is the owner of the historic Biscottificio Mattei in Prato – a business that the Pandolfinis had already taken over in 1904. With Deseo, Francesco developed a deliberately independent second line: production site, packaging, and communication were consistently kept separate from Mattei, so that Deseo could exist as its own creative workshop alongside the traditional family business.
The young brand took an important turn in 2011 when Francesco met Audrey at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair in London, who has since been his life partner and a central part of Deseo's growth. While Francesco focuses on product development and the Italian market, Audrey drives exports and shapes the elegant, unmistakable brand identity.
Handcraft, Italian raw materials, clear principles
In the workshop in Prato, the biscotti are made by hand every day, without preservatives or other chemical additives. Deseo deliberately avoids palm oil because of its ecological impact. Francesco personally selects the ingredients with care and, wherever possible, relies on raw materials of Italian origin: Italian wheat, Italian centrifuge butter, and free-range eggs form the basis of many recipes. The recipes themselves arise from continuous experimentation – classic Tuscan foundations meet unusual, modern flavor combinations.
From Cantuccini to Frolla and crackers
In the beginning, there was the cantuccino, the iconic pastry of the Tuscan tradition, which was quickly appreciated for its authenticity. Over the years, Deseo expanded the range to include new sweet and savory recipes, always driven by the desire to explore balanced and surprising flavors. The Frolla line is based on rich English butter cookies with a core of centrifuge butter and unusual flavors such as rose oil, cocoa with pistachio slivers, or chocolate drops – ideal with tea or coffee. The cracker line, in turn, is intended as a savory accompaniment to cheese and charcuterie, but can also be served as a small crostino with honey or fruit mustard. The slightly irregular shape of the biscotti is no coincidence, but the result of artisanal production far removed from industrial mass production. Today, Biscotti Deseo can be found in selected shops in Italy and in more than 40 countries worldwide – including the Cantuccini Toscani IGP with which it all began.
