D. Coluccio & Sons, Inc. is a family owned and operated Italian specialty food importer and retailer located in the heart of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Established by Domenico Coluccio, in the mid-1960’s, the shop is among the earliest importers, distributors, wholesalers & retailer of Italian specialty food products in the United States.
The location features a retail store situated alongside its wholesale operations, where Cathy Coluccio Fazzolari gained firsthand experience growing up in the family business. The offer the finest variety of imported Italian pasta, cheeses, baking products, prosciuttos, soppressata, and delicious cakes available today in the Tri-State area.
Immigrating from Gioiosa Marina, a small town in southeastern Calabria, Italy, Domenico began importing foods that you could get only from his part of Calabria. This tradition of maintaining an inventory of unique food imports has continued today with Cathy and her two brothers.
Cathy runs the day-to-day operations of the company which includes buying, human resources, the financial and accounting areas. She frequently travels to Italy attending trade shows to source artisanal food products to sell at the retail to customers across the county. Many of the sourced products are packed under the Coluccio brand label.
She has a passion for food and learned to cook from her mother, who was a native of Calabria, Italy.
Cathy has taught cooking classes at the Great Neck Adult Center, New York City College of Technology and Boston College. Cathy has served on the board of Les Dames d’Escoffier New York as treasurer and is a member of the National Organization of Italian American Women (NOIAW).
Most recently, she published authentic Calabrese recipes inspired by memories of her childhood in The Italian Daughter’s Cookbook.
We sat down with Cathy to find out a bit more about owning and operating D. Coluccio & sons and her new cookbook.
Who are your customers?
We service a wide array of establishments, ranging from delis and mom & pop shops to larger distributors and retailer chains here in the Metro NY area and nationwide.
What do you offer?
We’re proud of our long heritage, today our product portfolio includes over 1500 items, in over 50 categories and nearly 75 brands from Calabria and the other regions in Italy.
Some of our specialty items- Coluccio DOP Tomatoes, Coluccio Sicilian Olive Oil, Mauro Coffee, Callipo Tuna, italian Dried Legumes, Specialty Pasta from all regions of Italy, Balsamic Vinegars, Truffle Oils, Parma Prosciutto, Mortadella imported from Bologna, Provolone and Pecorino Cheeses, Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano, Assortment of italian Olives, Gluten Free pastas, Christmas Panettone and Easter Colomba.
If tariffs are imposed this year on Italian goods, what will be affected?
Already prices are high in every industry and every sector. An additional duty will affect sales and not everyone will be able to afford to buy the products. Or they will find an alternate at a lower price, but not the same quality.
What are the trends, changes in Italian food/products that you’ve seen over the years?
After COVID, the world realized the importance of eating healthy and were demanding high quality good healthy products and Italy was able to supply us for distribution nationwide.
Why did you choose to write The Italian Daughter’s Cookbook now?
It took 10 years for me to write the cookbook. My memories of my mother’s cooking inspired me to write The Italian Daughter’s Cookbook. When I was growing up, every meal was made from scratch and was indescribably delicious.
I can never forget the taste and smell of dishes like Sunday Sauce with Meatballs and Sausage, Lamb Baked with Potatoes, and Peas and Stuffed Eggplant.
However, none of my mother’s recipes were written down. To capture and preserve her Calabrese style of cooking for my children, friends, and anyone who loves to experience regional cuisines, I relied on my senses of taste, smell, touch, and hearing.
Slowly, I stirred in ingredients like salt, garlic, and tomatoes in measured increments, sampling after each addition, until Calabrese specialties like Polenta with Broccoli and Fennel and Escarole Egg Drop Soup tasted exactly as they did in my mother’s kitchen.
As I cooked, I watched the clock to determine how long it takes for onions to release the aroma that signals they’re perfectly cooked, a beef steak to yield to a finger indicating it’s medium rare, and zeppoles to crackle when they’re ready to pull from the fryer.
Why did you focus on the Calabrese Region?
While many of the dishes in this book may sound familiar to you, the way they’re prepared is unique to the Calabrese region of Southern Italy and specifically to Marina di Gioiosa Ionica in the Reggio Calabria province, where both my parents were born and my mother learned to cook from her mother.
Despite the abundance of books celebrating Southern Italian food and the prevalence of Italian restaurants throughout the world, the cuisine of Calabria remains largely unknown.
What was the hardest part of writing the book?
Recreating all of my mother’s recipes and writing down the ingredients, we put salt in the palm of our hand, eyed the oil. Things were never timed, we went by smell and the look of the dish. (Cathy went back and tested all of the recipes until they were perfect, while her daughter helped write down each ingredient and measurement.)
What differentiates Calabrese cooking from other regions in Italy?
The recipes focus on high quality ingredients that are simple to prepare. Few include butter and cream. In many of the soups, water, not broth, is the base, so that flavor of vegetables like zucchini, chicory, and fennel shines through.
Rather than being sautéed, broccoli rabe and string beans are boiled; then, after they’re done, they’re drizzled with the highest quality extra virgin olive oil so that you can appreciate the exquisite taste of both the greens and the oil.
How can chefs add Calabrese cuisine to their menus?
Chef’s will appreciate the process of transforming humble ingredients into something delectable. For the best recreation of Calabrese flavor, search out the finest ingredients.
When you can, select produce from farmer’s markets; meats from a butcher shop; and olive oil, canned tomatoes, and pasta from an Italian specialty store. Be sure to look for both fresh and dried Calabrian peppers that will give your dishes a burst of authenticity.
What are the techniques for Calabrese recipes to share with chefs and caterers?
Slice onions in large pieces and sauté garlic whole to avoid burning the garlic and onion during the sauté. I start the sauté on a cold pot, this way the oil slowly gets the flavor of the garlic and the sauté.
When I’m making broth, I add the vegetables to cold water and bring to a boil. I only use DOP Italian tomatoes and grated cheese of choice is Red Cow Parmigiano.
(Cathy invites you, if you are in the Metro NY area, please come visit their store to experience a little bit of Italy here and contact them at cathy@dcoluccioandsons.com)
