Kit Humbarger
Managing Editor
Photo Courtesy of Bianca Bottene
Junior Bianca Bottene created her pasta business, Nonna Bella Pasta, in the fall of 2023 to strengthen her cultural ties with her family.
Bottene originally started this business to connect with her grandparents. According to Bottene, she has a strong relationship with her grandmother and wanted to thank her for all she has done for Bottene.
“The inspiration behind [the business name] comes from my Italian grandmother who taught me how to cook and bake when I was younger,” said Bottene. “One of my favorite things to do was to make homemade pasta with her, and she was the inspiration behind me starting this business. “Nonna Bella” translates to “Beautiful Grandmother” in Italian.”
Every week, Bottene sells homemade linguine pasta for $10 a pound. She takes orders through a Google Form link on her Instagram, @nonnabellapasta.
“The pasta is homemade from a family recipe.” Bottene said. “Originally it was rolled and cut by hand, but eventually I was able to invest in a large pasta machine.”
On Sundays, Bottene makes, packages, and delivers the pasta. According to Bottene, she has learned to organize her business schedule to stay on top of her orders.
“Since I have a set day of the week to send out the orders, it makes it easy and convenient to manage them,” said Bottene.
Bottene receives about 30 orders per month. She tackles around seven orders per week, hand-making the pasta and packaging it for delivery. According to Bottene, the most challenging part of her business is “finding time with a busy school schedule to devote more time to grow the business.”
In creating her business, Bottene hoped to connect more with her family and with her culture. She believes she succeeded in this goal, as she has grown closer to her family in the time since starting her business and has learned more about her Italian roots in developing her pasta recipes.
“I love spending time with my family as we have connected our Italian culture to this business,” said Bottene. “My mom has been the most supportive of this business as she has helped me with product development and fulfilling my orders.”
Customers can purchase an order of pasta through the link in her Instagram, @nonnabellapasta
Leave a Reply