{"id":1986,"date":"2022-01-16T16:55:29","date_gmt":"2022-01-16T16:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mokambogelateria.com\/?page_id=1986"},"modified":"2022-03-24T14:42:55","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T14:42:55","slug":"our-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mokambogelateria.com\/en\/our-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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He clutched these papers as if they were simple pages from a forest of ink, containing numbers, dosages and recipes for cakes and ice cream flavours, not knowing that those words, which came from so far away,<\/em> today are regarded as real historical finds.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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From Vincenzo Paparella<\/strong>‘s desk, Marketing Manager<\/em> at Mokambo Gelateria.<\/p>

This is not the story of an ordinary artisan ice-cream parlour.<\/p>

This is the story of a family, whose tradition and pastry arts come from very far away. It is a journey through time that takes us back to the date of 1840.<\/p>

It all began from him: Luigi Marseglia (the man portrayed in the picture below). He was the uncle of the grandfather of the Paparella’s dynasty, pastry chef of the renowned Caf\u00e9 Gambrinus in Naples<\/strong>, which precisely in that magic places, he learned the “white art”<\/strong> of making artisan gelato and desserts, which were highly in vogue in the most prestigious courts in Europe at the time.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Luigi Marseglia (uncle Luigi) - the pastry masterchef who taught the art of making artisan gelato to my grandfather.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Naples was not far behind, since from that famous Caf\u00e9 Gabrinius stood and still stands the Royal Palace just a few steps away.<\/p>

And, it is in fact from the walls of that magnificent Royal Palace that the best pastry chefs of that time derive from, they were greatly experienced people with even greater abilities at serving King Ferdinand II of Bourbon.<\/p>

What happened to Luigi Marseglia at that time, today it would be considered a unique opportunity.<\/p>

Whilst working in the caf\u00e9, the young Luigi followed the footsteps of his master, Pascale Scognamillo<\/em>, the firstborn son of the King Ferdinand II of Bourbon\u2019s pastry chef master<\/strong>, from which he learned the recipes and the confectionery art. Exactly in that Caf\u00e9, whilst churning out and preparing sweets for years, is where Luigi became the head pastry chef.<\/p>

Hence, a common thread connects Luigi Marseglia’s life with the sweets’ recipes favoured by the King Ferdinand II of Bourbon, who was nicknamed Bomba<\/em>, not only because he bombed Messina (in Sicily) but also for his passion for desserts.<\/p>

Actually It was the king himself, who was in love with that cream perfumed with vanilla and refined spices.<\/em> In 1840, he awarded his confectioner for making memorable what was then defined as Cremolada<\/em> and, from that moment on became the \u201cCrema del Re\u201d<\/strong>. (otherwise called \u201cKing’s Cream\u201d<\/strong> in English)<\/p>

Sweet, silky, fragrant and unforgettable: Luigi was lucky to get to know this delicacy and become its heir.<\/strong><\/p>

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Today the \u201cCrema del Re\u201d (King\u2019s Cream) is the flagship flavour of the artisan Mokambo Gelateria<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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When Luigi moved to Ruvo, to follow his heart and marry a local, he decided to open his own personal caf\u00e9 in that small borough in Puglia, naming it with the same place in honour of the working place where he grew up: The Caff\u00e8 Gambrinus of Ruvo di Puglia with billiard room attached to it.<\/p>

However, this was not his only business. Luigi also opened the Trattoria Marseglia located in Via Alcide de Gasperi (opposite the Cascione bakery), the Hotel Marseglia situated in Regina Margherita Square, and a Shell petrol station (the very first ever opened in town and the only one serving the Municipalities of Ruvo di Puglia, Corato and Terlizzi – in 1912) located at the corner of Corso Domenico Cotugno.<\/p>

However, all these businesses needed heirs; Luigi had no kids, and for this reason, Luigi decided to pass on his expertise and knowledge to his grandson “little” Vincenzo Paparella, our dear grandfather.<\/p>

Vincenzo grew up quickly. At only 5 years old, he began working as a stable boy in his uncle\u2019s artisan ice-cream parlour, learning the art of baking and \u201cby stealing\u201d with his eyes the trade tricks. He worked there for the next 13 years up till 1951, the year when he turned 18 years old and had to leave for military service.<\/p>

During the years away from home, he became a tank driver and was appointed to fight at the border with Dalmatia, to fight for the battle of<\/p>

Trieste’s liberation, which then took place on the 26th of October in 1954. His special role as a tank driver extended his enlistment and duty until February 1956.<\/p>

With the cold war and the liberation of Trieste, Vincenzo was dismissed from his role and went back to Ruvo di Puglia in the last few cold days of February 1956.<\/p>

However, upon his return, he found out that Uncle Luigi had recently sold Caff\u00e8 Gambrinus and therefore could no longer work in the family business and he went to work at Caff\u00e9 Italia until January 1967.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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On the left our grandmother Irene Ippedico (known as Lena) with her little granddaughter Angela Fracchiola, on the right her sister Lucia Ippedico and her husband Rocco Fracchiolla - the picture was taken in 1955<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Working in the caf\u00e9 meant his life. Serving and arranging small receptions like those that took place back in that time, at home, in the mid-1960s, was his calling. <\/strong><\/p>

So it was that with the help of his brothers-in-law Lucia Ippedico and Rocco Fracchiolla and Uncle Luigi’s recommendation, who vouched for him with Mrs Maria Pierro in De Marco, owner of the premises in Corso Carafa number 56 and 58. And, at 34 years old, Vincenzo opened his own Bar Mokambo. It was the 7th of November in 1967.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Wedding in the Aurora room in Via Carlo Rosselli - July 1967 - The bride Filomena Carlucci and the groom Domenico Elicio - on the above left there is Uncle Luigi and below is my father - on the above right is my grandfather Vincenzo with my grandmother Irene Ippedico and on the right below there is the little Uncle Franco.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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At that time, Vincenzo didn\u2019t think that those recipes for sweets and gelato flavours, which were handed down by his uncle and dated back to the Bourbons, would be valuable historical finds: For him, the \u201cCrema del Re\u201d (King\u2019s Cream) was \u201cThe Uncle Luigi’s gelato\u201d<\/em> – or as our grandmother Lena loved to remember it in the local dialect as \u201cu Gg-lot d Z\u00ec Giggin\u201d.<\/em><\/p>

During these years, the Mokambo Bar offered multiple different services: on one side there were pastries, on the other side artisan gelato and in the middle, it had a caf\u00e9 offering events planning services. Shortly afterwards the other business activities of the Mokambo family were born<\/strong>, including the Aurora Hall, the Veranda Hall and the M.K. Hall, as well as home dining service, known as catering<\/em> service nowadays, which even reached the farther areas of Foggia and Lucania.<\/p>

\u00abWhat you call catering today, we used to do it right here, in the big kitchen of what used to be the Marseglia Hotel\u00bb<\/em> Uncle Franco reminded us a few days ago while we were chatting about family tales.<\/p>

For over 30 years, particularly between the ’60s and the early ’80s, the Mokambo family was at the centre of Ruvo’s life, a reference point for celebrations like wedding occasions, baptisms, receptions and parties.<\/p>

\u00abToday, we still receive photographs and small men\u00f9 agreements from some clients, whose parents or grandparents celebrated wedding ceremonies or arranged receptions at what used to be our venues\u00bb<\/em> Giuliana tells.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The story continues and goes on.<\/strong> In the 90s, the ice cream and confectionery market changed, and the sector was no longer what it once was: In other words, the introduction of semi-finished products, industrial ingredients for pastry-making and gelato-making, along with the labour’s commercialisation, profit maximisation, and excessive consumption changed the game’s rules.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The introduction of semi-finished products, industrial ingredients for pastry-making and gelato-making, along with the labour's commercialisation and excessive consumption changed the game's rules<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Offering a genuine product was no longer enough.<\/strong><\/p>

The customers were looking for something else: They searched for intensively bright and gaudy coloured gelatos.<\/strong><\/p>

Consumers were looking for the variety and the quantity of flavours rather than quality and genuineness of products. Essentially, all the opposite of what Mokambo Bar had been offering up until that moment.<\/p>

The opposite of what the Mokambo family had always tried to preserve: simplicity and tradition<\/strong>.<\/p>

So it was in 1998, when the last chapter of Bar Mokambo came to an end. It was the 15th of December in 1998.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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For what reason the artisan gelateria was reopened, bringing the ancient recipes back to life in the heart of Ruvo di Puglia?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The years go by, trends pass, and we witness slowly slowly a return of awareness in customers of the food’s quality.<\/strong> People realised that they have lost the good foods’ products of the past, so much so that the statements, which are heard around were the following:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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