A post long overdue, a few weeks ago I received a tasting box from We are the Sauce. As per their website, The Sauce is a new and fiercely independent company based in London. Their team of three takes care of all aspects: they speak to the producers, coordinate the shipping and even built their  website.

 

They travel across countries to research (and in a very detailed fashion too) the local food scene, finding out about relatively little known gems. One of the areas they have visited is Cilento – and readers of this blog will know Cilento is one of my favourite areas in Southern Italy. Yet food from Cilento is not easy to source in Italy, let alone here. We are the Sauce distribute such pieces to the discerning foodies here in London. Their boxes have the nicest ingredients and staple from Southern Italy and Cilento itself. 

I had invited a couple of friends to taste the goods with us and we weren’t disappointed. The mozzarella was fresh, milky and authentic. It was in fact from Paestum from Masseria Lupata, possibly related to the lovely people who donated a ton of Mozzarella to our Discover Cilento supper club. 

The Ricotta was also extremely good: on the dry side, but full of flavour and texture and from the same dairy farm as the mozzarella. 
The best item in the box in my opinion was the salame, Salsiccia di Gioi. Gioi is a tiny town in the Cilento and Vallo di Diano national park and is famous for its ‘sopressata’, a lean cured meat and the sausage was just as good. Loved it. 

I also received a Lemon, and as per their website, this is a sfusato from the Amalfi area. Personally I found it good but not that special, but then again I am used to buying unwaxed, Campania lemons over here and if I can, I bring those from Cilento myself – grown in our own garden in the region, lumpy, ugly and bursting with juice. Can’t beat home grown!
Finally the box contained a wonderfully tar-like aromatic truffle from Bagnoli Irpino. Again these are little known outside of Italy, and slightly different in flavour than the more famous specimens from Abruzzo-Molise or Piemonte. I enjoyed it a few days later in a risotto but I appreciate it might not suit everyone given the strong pungent aroma. 

The Tasting Box, priced at £25, also contains Friarielli but I did not receive those so I cannot comment, however given the carefully sourced items in the box, I am sure these would be of the highest quality. 
I think what We are the Sauce are doing is great – customers can count on ingredients being fresh, arrived bespoke for each purchase and are definitely authentic. I am not sure the selection works to be honest – the truffle is certainly a specialty item but I wouldn’t want to spend £25 and get a truffle each time. I would rather buy the easier to eat and cook dairy and meat products as a box and considering getting the truffles on their own on a special occasion. Hopefully they will look at a variety of offering in the future. For now, well done We are the Sauce!

Thank you We are the Sauce for sending me the complimentary tasting box.