Until recently, I’d never heard of Diforti: an Italian company that sells antipasti and gourmet Italian food boxes online. The company began life back in 1875 when brothers Andrea and Carlo’s great-grandfather began creating and selling antipasti to local villagers in Sicily. Their grandfather expanded to sell to restaurants and grocery stores in 1939, while in 1974, their father decided to bring these Sicilian flavours to those outside of Italy.
Carlo and Andrea took over the business in 2005, and now sell over two hundred artisan food and drink products via the Diforti website: everything from cured meats and cheeses to pesto and pasta.
With their gourmet food boxes, they aim to make relaxed entertaining even easier, and there’s a range of different price points and contents, from cheese or meat selections to family antipasti boxes.
I was invited to review the Classic Antipasti Selection (£21): a box described as serving four people, and packed with the following:
- Semi-dried Cherry Tomato 130g
- Nocellara Del Belice Olives 100g
- Red Sweet Pepper stuffed with cheese 110g
- Spanish Salted Marcona Almond 100g
- Aged Pecorino With Truffle 150/200g
- Italian Breadsticks Rustici 250g
- Salame Milano 80g
As the package contained chilled items, I was pleased to receive both an email and a text to let me know when it would be delivered – and also glad to see that the non-chilled elements were well-wrapped to keep them from breaking, and the chilled ingredients were packaged in a mini cool bag complete with ice pack. But how did everything taste…?
The nocellara olives came packed in brine, and had all the vibrant green colour you’d expect from this variety. We loved their bright, fresh flavour – some of them were a little disappointing in their texture, softer than expected, but the majority were beautifully firm and meaty as they should be.
The breadsticks had a lovely crunch and a light flavour that didn’t overpower anything else, with the occasional large salt crystal making itself known for a burst of extra flavour.
The semi-dried tomatoes were sweet, rich and soft, while the mini sweet red peppers stuffed with cheese had a chilli-like flavour but without the excess heat. We were pleased that they still had a bit of bite to them and weren’t completely soft, with the slight piquancy of flavour also carried through to the cheese.
The Marconi almonds were fantastic: plump and glossy in their texture with a good crunch and just the right amount of salt to season but keep the flavour of the nuts shining through. And while the Salame Milano was tasty, its relatively mild flavour became pretty lost amongst the surrounding powerful ingredients.
The majority of this power came from the aged Pecorino with truffle – we could smell its familiar earthiness as soon we sliced through the vacuum packaging. I’ll be disappointed when we’ve finished the block: there’s a generous seam of black truffle running through the centre, infusing the creamy, salty cheese with a decadent flavour that actually tempers some of its saltiness.
Priced at £21, the box is designed to serve 4 people, and we both thought it was pretty good value for money. It’s not much cheaper than buying all of the elements separately (it would cost £22.15), but it’s a convenient way to cater for dinner parties – plus I love how the box also included a sheet of paper offering tips on how best to serve.
Having looked through the other products on the Diforti website, I’d definitely consider placing an order in the future – I love the variety and the prices seem reasonable – and I’m already craving more of that truffled Pecorino…
Please note: this box was received free of charge, but in no way impacted on our opinion. We were not obliged to write a positive review, and the company did not see this review before it was put up on the site.