From accountant to pasta maker: The woman behind F.U.C.K.

Rhealyn Manzano was a successful accountant in Manila when she decided to leave it all behind and fly to Italy to learn the art of Italian cooking. Today, the 39-year-old makes fresh ravioli and other pasta under her budding business, Farina. And yes, the full name is Farina Urban Café & Kitchen. Put the initials together, and you get F.U.C.K.

It is a bold name, but Manzano would not have it any other way. She drew inspiration from a magazine she saw in Florence called “Florence Urban Cocktail & Kitchen.” She loved the playful, contemporary spirit behind it. So when she started her own venture, she decided to bring a little of that Florentine creativity home.

How a Filipino family kitchen sparked a passion for cooking

Manzano grew up in a household where cooking was a family affair. Her mother worked while her father raised the children, did the cooking, and taught them all how to cook. Manzano laughs when she says, “I’m the best of them all, of course.”

She loved preparing the family’s Christmas and New Year meals. As early as November, she would already be planning the menu. When she left for Italy, her family missed her cooking terribly.

From keto business to culinary school in Italy

Manzano always had a knack for business. In college, she sold polvoron to classmates. She later became an accountant and built a comfortable corporate career.

Then the pandemic hit. Like many enterprising Filipinos during COVID, she started a keto food business. It did well, but she wanted to learn more. So in her mid-30s, she set aside her career and business and flew to Italy to study cooking.

After her studies, she interned at a restaurant and was eventually hired. She learned a lot, but the pay was not good. “The pay wasn’t good,” she admits. She had been earning much more back home, and her keto business had stopped while she was away. With savings dwindling, she decided to return to Manila. “I had to come back because I needed money,” she says.

That honesty is refreshing. Passion alone does not pay the bills, and Manzano knows it.

Why ravioli became her specialty

Back home, Manzano began thinking about what business to start. She knew how to make fresh pasta and believed there was room for it in the local market. In Italy, her colleagues seemed to know instinctively when pasta was perfectly cooked. Manzano relied on a timer. But the very thing that once intimidated her became her specialty.

She started making fresh pasta at home, experimenting with shapes, fillings, and sauces. Ravioli captured her imagination. One of her favorites is a potato-filled ravioli flavored with herbs. It sounds simple, but there is much more going on inside that little parcel of dough.

The story behind the name F.U.C.K.

Farina means flour in Italian, an appropriate name for a pasta business. But its full name is Farina Urban Café & Kitchen. The acronym, F.U.C.K., is catchy, bold, and memorable. Manzano first saw the idea in Florence, and she loved it.

“I loved the contemporary, creative spirit behind it,” she shares. So she brought that spirit home.

Making pasta in Manila: Challenges and adaptations

For now, Farina operates from Manzano’s home kitchen. She makes fresh pasta and is exploring opportunities to supply restaurants and cafés. But making pasta in Manila comes with challenges. Imported Italian flour is expensive, so she uses local flour blended with semolina, adjusting her recipes to suit the heat and humidity.

She offers different fillings to suit different preferences: vegetarian, seafood, pork, and meat. Her inspiration extends beyond Italy. She is fascinated by pasta makers in Brazil and their creativity with ravioli shapes and fillings.

Farina Urban Café & Kitchen opens in Quezon City this November

Manzano’s dream of opening her own pasta café is becoming a reality. This November, she will open Farina Urban Café & Kitchen along Tomas Morato in Quezon City. It will be a café and pasta bar serving handmade pasta, coffee, and aperitivo, with a studio for weekend workshops where people can make pasta, have a drink, and enjoy themselves.

For Manzano, it is an exciting new chapter. She has not abandoned the practical side of herself in pursuit of her dream. She is simply, and happily, juggling both.

Recipe: Culurgiones (Sardinian potato ravioli)

Manzano shares her recipe for culurgiones, a traditional Sardinian pasta with a potato filling. Here is how to make it at home.

Ingredients

• Pasta dough: 150g semolina flour, 75g water
• Potato filling: 250g potatoes, 25g Parmesan cheese (finely grated), salt and black pepper to taste, olive oil as needed, nutmeg to taste, fresh parsley (finely minced)

Procedure

Prepare the filling: Boil the potatoes unpeeled until tender. Drain and cool slightly. Peel and mash until smooth. Add parsley, Parmesan, olive oil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix well and set aside to cool completely.

Prepare the pasta dough: Place semolina flour in a bowl. Slowly add water while mixing. Knead for 7 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap in cling film and rest for 30 minutes.

Roll and cut the pasta: Roll the dough through a pasta machine until thin. Cut out circles with an 8 cm cookie cutter. Keep covered to prevent drying.

Shape the culurgiones: Place a circle in your palm. Add a teaspoon of filling. Fold and pinch the edges alternately to create the characteristic braided pattern. Seal the top firmly.

Cook and serve: Boil in salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until tender. Serve with tomato sauce, grated Parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil. Buon appetito!

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