The Semole d’Autore range is Selezione Casillo’s first range to hit the shelves of the retailers. “This project,” Selezione Casillo informs us, “is about expanding the use of semolina beyond bread and pasta production”. Each product offering is linked to a highly regarded professional chef, confectioner or pizza chef, with the premise that “testimonials, which highlight and endorse product quality, always pay dividends”. The Semole d’Autore project brings together tradition and innovation and aims to promote durum wheat semolina as a precious yet simple raw ingredient for use in recipes such as pizzas, deserts and cakes. “Whilst there is an ongoing focus on ready-made goods at the moment,” says Selezione Casillo, “in our opinion, this is not the route to go down. This is because those consumers who are cooking from scratch will continue to broaden their skills and will be prepared to take the time needed to do so. For this reason, we feel that the best way to innovate is to focus on tradition as well as regional skills and specialities”. Selezione Casillo’s turnover at year end 2013 was 50 million euros, which represents a growth of 20% compared to 2012 and their current best-selling product is Semola di Grano Duro Biologica (Organic Durum Wheat Semolina).