By Karen Parr-Moody
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Both sets of Louise Delgandio grandparents were from Italy. So it makes sense that she should celebrate her heritage by selling a range of fresh pastas through Louise’s Bakery & Kitchen at Clarksville’s Downtown Market.
The Downtown Market, which occurs each Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at One Public Square, hosts a wide array of vendors. However, Delgandio is unusual in having spent her childhood in the Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood of Bensonhurst, where she sampled a wide variety of cuisine. She said the global influence of foods – including Dutch, Swedish, Chinese, German, Irish, Jewish and Polish – has influenced her taste buds and her cooking.
That said, most shoppers know her for the Italian fare she sells, which includes a range of fresh pastas such as gnocchi, ravioli and tortellini (these include gluten-free versions made upon request). Her ravioli flavors are unlike what is offered at local grocery stores. For example, she makes short-rib and braised beef ravioli, a Maine lobster and saffron ravioli, a spinach with roasted garlic and mozzarella ravioli and a shrimp and langoustine ravioli. She also makes pasta sauces.
Additionally, Delgandio makes an array of fresh breads, including Italian, sun-dried tomato, rosemary, pesto, Kalamata olive, whole wheat sourdough and cranberry Pecan.
Delgandio strives for healthy ingredients.
“My breads are made of unbleached and unbromated flour,” she said. “And I grow the herbs for them in my garden, with no pesticides.”
She sources locally whenever she can – such as with the farm-fresh honey she uses in her breads. And, she says, after several years at the market, her home-based business continues to grow. After taking one bite of her food, you’ll understand why.
Louise Delgandio, whose grandparents were from Italy, chats with a customer at her booth, Louise’s Bakery & Kitchen, at Clarksville’s Downtown Market./Karen Parr-Moody
Karen Parr-Moody began a career as a New York journalist, working as a fashion reporter for Women’s Wear Daily, a beauty editor for Young Miss and a beauty and fashion writer for both In Style and People magazines. Regionally, she has been a writer at The Leaf-Chronicle newspaper and currently writes about arts and culture for Nashville Arts magazine each month.