In Italy, there’s a “purity” law dating back to 1967 mandating that dried pasta only be made from durum wheat semolina and water.
“In America, you don’t have this legislation,” explains Sergio Chierego, a globe-trotting chef from Sardinia who’s building his Pasta Santina brand in Carpinteria. “And it’s a known fact that you can boost the flavor of your pasta by mixing other flours in with it.”
Add to that the American obsession with packing in proteins, fiber, and any other health-boosting quality into our food, and it was obvious to Chierego that his pasta should do more. He mixes three flours into his noodles — semolina, whole wheat, and spelt — , each with its own point — and now with serious accolades, having just won three gold awards at the Good Food Awards.
“Semolina gives the structure and gluten for a great bite,” he explained. “The spelt is a wonderful flour that gives that unique Pasta Santina flavor. Then we have the whole wheat, which boosts protein and fiber. This blend gives you a superfood, made five miles away from your home.”
Chierego himself is a long way from home, having left the Italian isle of Sardinia 20 years ago at age 17. He’s since cooked at top restaurants in nine countries, but left Saudi Arabia to settle in the United States in 2020 after winning the green card lottery and getting hired to open a major Italian restaurant in St. Louis. “It was a golden opportunity and I couldn’t refuse,” he said.
When he was 30, he took a cross-country road trip that started in New York and ended in Santa Barbara. “I always thought that one day I will live here,” recalled Chierego. When his girlfriend at the time got a job at the Bacara in 2024, he followed her out and started developing the concept behind Pasta Santina two weeks later. He is convinced that the American Riviera’s moderate climate between the ocean and the mountains — the closest he’s seen to Sardinia in his world travels — is truly ideal for crafting pasta.
While researching the competition — there really isn’t much nearby aside from Etto Pastificio in Paso Robles — Chierego realized how many “Santa” city names there are. “There were so many saints around me,” he laughed. He quickly bought the Pasta Santina domain name, then focused on the branding and recipes, which are certified organic.
It took about a year to save enough money to buy a pasta machine from Italy, and then four months for it to be delivered. He found his warehouse on Carpinteria Avenue last November, and got to work on that. “We built this from scratch,” he said of his factory. “It was an empty warehouse and one month later it was a pasta shop.”
Moving swiftly seems central to the Pasta Santina story, as the young brand is already being sold in 47 stores across seven states as well as in several restaurants. “Restaurants are understanding that it’s a great addition to their storytelling,” said Chierego, who can currently produce about 40,000 boxes of pasta monthly.
Many places around Santa Barbara also sell the pasta, which come in eight shapes with a few more on the way very soon. Though the look of each is familiar, Chierego gives some them proprietary names, like “Shorties” for a half-sized rigatoni — they won the Good Food Award gold along with his full-sized rigatoni and snail-shaped lumache — and “Vorti-Cee” for the spiralized cut traditionally known as girelle or vesuvio, his most popular shape right now. “Pasta is about family and family is about kids most of the time, and kids are loving these,” he said.
All ages would enjoy a visit to the factory, which features a small retail shop with a record player spinning, colorful merchandise to buy, and even a peek at the magic if it’s a pasta-making day. “Through a window, you can see pasta being made in front of you,” said Chierego. “It’s very educational to visit the store.” (Rincon Mountain Winery’s tasting room is right across the parking lot, if you need extra encouragement.)
If all goes well, he hopes to rent a larger facility that would enable him to make longer cuts like spaghetti, and then turn this original location into a gluten-free facility. That would likely require a seven-figure investment, and then he’d like to venture into making sauces as well, straight from the farmers markets.
Mostly, he just hopes people appreciate what he’s doing. “As a community, it should make you proud that good food can be made around the corner, right in your neighborhood,” he said. “That’s the coolest thing for me.”
Pasta Santina, 4185 Carpinteria Ave #5, Carpinteria; (805) 318-9202; pastasantina.com
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