Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, grandson of Italys last reigning king, will soon serve classics such as seafood fettuccine from his food truck The Prince of Venice
When the heir to the defunct Italian throne has a Los Angeles hipster vibe and wants to make money, the result is perhaps foretold: gourmet pasta food truck.
Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, the grandson of Umberto II, the last reigning king of Italy, has launched a new catering business on the streets of LA, bringing truffle linguine to the masses.
The best of Italy meets the best of LA, he told the Guardian. It will be delicious.
The prince said the idea came to him during visits to LA where he encountered some of the citys estimated 4,000 food trucks. I started looking at this fashion, saw that so many of them were selling tacos, Korean barbecue and hot dogs, and I thought in my little head: why not create a pasta food truck with fresh pasta?
The truck, called Prince of Venice, opened for business on Friday in downtown LA and will trundle to Venice and other spots on the westside over the weekend. It has a large window so customers can see the pasta being made.
Dishes will include seafood fettuccine, spaghetti alle melanzane and conchiglie amatriciana (seashell pasta with cured pork cheek), mostly for under $16.
The media puns and veiled mockery you get for free: Fresh pasta prince of Bel-Air. A crowning achievement.
Customers hoping to be served by the 44-year-old aristocrat, a veteran of Europes champagne circuit, will be disappointed: he lives in Monte Carlo and spoke to the Guardian from Corsica where he is on holiday with his wife, the French actor Clotilde Courau, and their two children.
Unfortunately I dont know how to cook well enough to be in the truck. But Ill be coming back in August or September and will be following it then. Its my little creation.
Not so little, if all goes well. The prince said he hoped to roll out two more trucks in LA later this year, followed by trucks in New York, Miami and other US cities. The idea is to create a brand of fast food but good fast food, fresh and organic.
Mirko Paderno, head chef at the upscale Italian restaurant Officine BRERA in downtown LA, will oversee the cooking.
Truffles, olive oil and flour will come from Italy but other ingredients will be fresh, organic and locally sourced from LA and Orange counties , said the prince. There will be no pizza. The fashion for artisanal fare was healthy, said the prince, whose vestigial royal title is Prince of Piedmont and Venice. Why not follow this hipster culture?
Being a prince boosted marketing, he said, but did not guarantee success. You are calling me (on the phone) because I am this, no? It can help bring awareness. But if youre not eating well it wont help that Im a prince or the pope or whatever.
Im really focusing on the quality and the price a democratizing service of special appeal to young people with limited time and income, he said. They can take the food to their office, share it with friends. Between taxes and tips they may not be able to eat in restaurants.
The prince also has a production company, AristoCrazy, and a fashion brand called PrinceTees. The food trucks site calls him an entrepreneur, producer, writer, novelist and philanthropist.
He is the only male-line grandson of Umberto II, the last king of Italy, who reigned briefly in 1946 until Italy became a republic. The new constitution sent male members of the Savoy family into exile.
Since the ban was lifted in 2002 the prince, born in Switzerland, has become a regular figure on Italian TV. He won its version of Dancing with the Stars.
However multiple controversies involving his father, Prince Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, have tarnished the family name.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/15/italy-prince-of-venice-emanuele-savoy-food-truck-la
