An Italian father of three has opened up a food takeaway and delivery business in Gloucester inspired by his children.
Luca Bagattin, who moved to the UK in 2013 and worked his way up from a waiter to a kitchen manager, has embarked on a new culinary adventure inspired by his young family’s favourite bedtime story.
Three Little Pigs, which launched at Space Business Centre Gloucester in April, uses locally-sourced ingredients to create artisan burgers and breakfast rolls – using the leftovers to craft mouth-watering pasta dishes for takeaway and delivery across the city.
Luca, 34, is originally from Milan, and learnt his craft in Italian kitchens where he first met his partner Martina. The pair, who have been together for seven years, had wanted to start their own food business before Covid-19 delayed their plans.
Their dream business is now up and running in unit 50 at Space Business Centre Gloucester, located just off Bristol Road in Quedgeley, and can be found on all major food delivery services including Just Eat and Deliveroo.
Luca said: “The plan has been a couple of years in the making, so it’s amazing to finally get up and running.
“The little ones love the three little pigs, and naturally I’m the big bad wolf, so it was a perfect name for us as it’s inspired by our family.
“Everything is sourced locally, using our local butcher, and made fresh. We start early to ensure we get the freshest ingredients, and use leftover meats from the night before to make authentic lasagne, which is one of our personal favourites.
“Other menu items include sausage buns, breakfast burgers, which are essentially a full English in a burger bun, and we also make a great mac and cheese, which has proved very popular since we opened in April.”
Space Business Centre Gloucester is owned by property investment company AC Lloyd, and is one of their two centres in Gloucestershire which offer flexible, multi-use units ranging from 275 to 775 sq ft.
Luca added: “We had wanted to do something just before the pandemic, so it’s been a really uncertain time for us, not knowing what was going to happen each month, whether starting a business was the right idea.
“A friend of mine also has a food business at Space, so it seemed like a good place to set up camp and see if we can grow.
“The flexible lease offered us some protection following the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Because of this, we have lots of options moving forward.
“We have a professional kitchen and a counter to cater for takeaway customers, as well as a few seats and a table to eat in, and is perfect for delivery.”
Lucy Iles, Site Manager at Space Gloucester and Cheltenham, said: “Having Luca and his family on board at Space has been fantastic, as well as keeping us all supplied with mouth watering meals it’s been wonderful to build even more of the community here at Space Gloucester where our units are showing we can cater for such a variety of businesses.“