CIOCCOLATO DI MODICA BONAJUTO

CIOCCOLATO DI MODICA BONAJUTO, MODICA (RAGUSA), SINCE 1880

Chocolate arrives in Sicily at the end of 17th century with the Spaniards and finds its natural habitat in the county of Modica, where the tools and the traditional method to prepare it are soon implemented. Its roughness makes it a product of gastronomic archeology and has been recently rescued by the Bonajuto family, the leading figures of the Modican chocolate renaissance. Starting from 1820, the Bonajutos oversee a cocoa-press machine, conquering the main role in the local production chain. In 1880, Francesco gives up all the family activities – from the snow trade to the sale of pickled citrus fruit – to devote himself to the confectionery business. In 1911, his chocolate is awarded with the gold medal at the International Agricultural Industrial Exhibition in Rome. The world wars and the industrial development in the chocolate sector seem to erase the traditional method of el chocolate a la Piedra. A few traces remain in South America – in Alicante and other small villages in Spain – while Modica manages only a tiny domestic production. One must wait until the appearance of Franco Ruta, great-grandson of Francesco Bonajuto and a charismatic personality, to witness its rebirth, thanks to steady word-of-mouth powered by journalists, intellectuals and chefs from all over the world. Today, the company, led by Pierpaolo Ruta, produces 500,000 pieces a year. With the ambitious desire to help people rediscover the very essence of his territory; because, as he says, “A bar is first and foremost a cultural instrument. It’s up to us to fill it with a meaning.”