La Biscotteria

La Biscotteria is a descriptive name – revealing an Italian heritage and its unique purpose. In 1989 Augustine Buonocore purchased a small wholesale bakery in Belmont, California and renamed it La Biscotteria. The bakery was compact but functional with an existingwholesale foodservice business; it focused on baked, premium desserts for country clubs and premium hotels in the San Francisco area. Augustine, an accomplished baker, easily assumed the production of Tiramisu, Cannoli and New York Style Cheesecakes; however, true to the name on the door, Augustine quickly added authentic Italian Biscotti to the selection. The most traditional Italian variety, Anise Biscotti (biscotti all anice), was the first to be introduced. The almond dough was lightly seasoned with the spicy seed of the anise plant, Pimpinella Anisum, and essential oil of anise, in carefully measured quantities. It was a tremendous success, and this initiated an immediate expansion to a second variety. Dark Chocolate Anise Biscotti was created by being hand-dipped in a premium, blended, semi-sweet chocolate from Schokinag, Germany. Over a period of 4 years the baked desserts were gradually discontinued. Biscotti baking was consuming the oven time and sales surpassed all expectations. The biscotti line developed to accommodate industry demands with variations in size. Grande is a seven inch cookie for the growing trend of specialty coffee shops. Biscotti is the five inch original size and is now the standard retail cookie. Biscottini, a three inch mini-cookie, has applications ranging from a hotel turndown service to a gelato and sorbet garnish. The expanded product line attracted a new retail customer base: the prestigious account of Draegers Fine Foods, Lunardis, an Italian, family-owned grocery chain, and a number of family owned retailers in the renowned Italian neighborhood of San Francisco known as North Beach. In 1994 Augustine expanded the biscotti selection by introducing Lemon Biscotti (bis