The History of Panificio Italiano
Meet Piero Scacco
Born in Sicily in 1938, Piero’s family moved to Rome when he was a teenager and this is where he began his illustrious career in the bakery industry. He first started in the hotel and catering industry as a commis chef, where he developed a passion for bakery and patisserie products.
Piero went on to work as a pastry chef at various iconic and prestigious locations, including the Grand Hotel in Rome, before landing a job in Paris at The Ritz Hotel.
In 1958 Piero moved to London, where he worked at The Savoy and The Waldorf Hotels as a patisserie chef.
It was in 1964 that his entrepreneurial streak shone through when he decided to open a bakery shop ‘Panificio Italiano’-‘The Italian Bakery’ in Trinity Road, Tooting Bec, South West London. Using the knowledge and skills he had already gained, he began to supply Italian and French restaurants with bakery and patisserie products – and so began the beginnings of the first bakery.
“If you find something you love doing, stick to it.”
– Piero Scacco
1938 – Piero is born in Sicily
Piero moved to Rome when he was a teenager where he began his long career in the bakery industry. His entry into the hotel and catering industry was as a commis pastry chef, where he developed a passion for bakery and patisserie products.
Piero went on to work as a pastry chef at various iconic and prestigious locations, including the Grand Hotel in Rome, before landing a job in Paris at The Ritz Hotel.
1958 – Making the move to London
Continuing his career, Piero moved to London where he worked at a number of illustrious institutions, including The Savoy and The Waldorf Hotels as a patisserie chef.
1964 – Piero opens his first bakery
Piero’s entrepreneurial streak shone through when he decided to open a bakery shop ‘Panificio’ – ‘The Italian Bakery’ in Trinity Road, Tooting Bec, South London.
Using the knowledge and skills he had gained over the years; he began to supply Italian and French restaurants with bakery and patisserie products – and so began the beginnings of the first bakery. This marked the beginning of Piero’s 6-decade long legacy in the bakery business.
1966 – Breakthrough
A couple of years later Piero was approached by Marks & Spencer (M&S), who asked him to produce a variety of speciality bread rolls as well as other artisanal bakery products.
Soon, the business outgrew its current site necessitating a relocation to new premises in Wembley, Northwest London. Piero continued to prosper with M&S, before going on to supply Tesco, Waitrose and other retail and food service companies.
Over the next 20 years Panificio grew to 6 sites, 4 in Wembley, 1 in Leicester and 1 in Barnsley employing over 1000 people.
1990 – Piero sells the business
Piero decided to bow out while at the top and sold the group to Northern Foods after successfully growing the business to an impressive turnover of £55m per annum.
Piero stayed with Northern Foods for a further two-and-a-half years.
After a brief retirement in Crans Montana, Switzerland Piero digressed into the arena of bakery machinery, but soon realised that this was neither his forte nor his passion.
1997 – Back to Baking
Piero took over Adams Bakery in 1997 and renamed it Heathrow Bakery, which specialised in bakery products for the airline and foodservice markets.
Then 18 months later Piero started Montana Bakery (from scratch) – an artisan and craft bakery located in Colnbrook near Heathrow Airport. This was not for financial reasons, but because of his passion as a creative baker who loves his work and baking delicious products.
Upon creating Montana, he was once again approached by M&S, who were only too happy for him to create some new products for them, before again going on to supply Waitrose and Sainsbury’s amongst others and employing over 300 people in the process. A large part of the business was supplying the UK foodservice industry as well as exporting to other countries including Australia, Holland and Ireland.
By the end of 2015 the group comprised of 3 sites; Montana, Heathrow, and Les Artisan Boulangerie which specialised in laminated bakery products such as croissants and pain au chocolat.
2016 – A second sale
The group had reached a turnover of £60 million, and after a very enjoyable time creating a new business and watching it blossom and grow, Piero decided to sell again. The sale included Montana Bakery and Les Artisan Boulangerie.
Late 2016 – Panificio Italiano is reborn
After the sale, Piero was still not ready to hang up his oven gloves and saw a further business opportunity. He purchased a site opposite Heathrow Bakery and began building the current bakery; Panificio Italiano; at the end of 2016.
The Panificio Italiano bakery is a modern, state-of-the-art bakery measuring approximately 45,000 sq feet and is purpose-built to meet the requirements of today’s customer. The old Heathrow Bakery was closed, and the business transferred to the new site, and the trading name changed to Panificio Italiano – the very name with which is very close to his heart.
Panificio Italiano manufactures products in a nut-free environment. We “handcraft” but on an industrial scale, producing high-quality artisan bread products bespoke to each customer.
Today – Still going strong
Now in his 80’s, Piero is a self-proclaimed workaholic and is still very much hands-on. He continues to pass on his passion for bread. He is always looking at product development and how to make things better for the consumer, customer and his team. His passion and creativity have never waned over his 60+ years in the bakery industry and continues to grow.
Piero will also admit that he is far from finished with the industry yet, and probably wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he wasn’t working! His aim has always been to look after his business as best he can, and he knows he is lucky to have found a passion that he was able to turn into a successful career. His parting comment to many is more a motto for life: “If you find something you love doing, stick with it.”