Macelleria Fratton Giovanni

The Macelleria Fratton is located in Povegliano Veronese, a small town in the southwestern part of the province of Verona, and it is a family-run butcher shop that has been in operation for over a century now. Today it is managed by Giovanni Fratton, the owner of the business and custodian of the family traditions.

A reality that is still known and appreciated throughout the province for the quality, craftsmanship, and authenticity of the products that Macelleria Fratton prepares with skill, experience, and passion.

A large extended family where every member who collaborates within the butcher shop, thanks to their unique abilities and knowledge, is essential to offer the final customer a product that is unique, genuine, artisanal, and of high quality.

In short, healthy and genuine dishes prepared following the recipes of the territory, according to the principles of traditional artisanal cuisine, the "cusina de 'na olta".
 

Macelleria Fratton: a family story

The story of the business spans over four generations and began in 1888 with Candido Fratton, Giovanni’s great-grandfather, who had been working as a butcher for some time and who had the courage and desire to start his own business.

Following in the footsteps of his ancestors, Giovanni, from a young age, as was customary in family-run businesses, always helped his parents in the slaughterhouse but then, as time passed and he became more aware of the weight and value of traditions, frequenting the shop turned into a true passion, almost more than a job.

In truth, Giovanni's initial plans were quite different, to the point that he started college to study economics and commerce at the University of Verona, but, as we know, things do not always go as planned! Fortunately, for us and for you we might say, the plans changed, bringing him back to the right path, namely the management of the family business.

The work of the butcher shop is indeed part of the family DNA, and even customers are, in a sense, called to be part of it. The spirit is that of the “shops” of many years ago, where not only products were sold, but where an important part of the offer was also the relationship of esteem and trust that was created between customers and the family members who managed the butcher shop. It is precisely the centrality of relationships that has been passed down to this day, after more than a century!

We are no longer just talking about a “simple” village shop but about a conscious reality that, thanks to its tireless work, has expanded its customer base throughout the province and beyond, mainly relying on word of mouth (and we hope with Spaghetti&Mandolino to do likewise).
 

Macelleria Fratton: the bond with the land of origin

Macelleria Fratton has always woven, and today more than ever, a very close relationship with its land of origin. The first demonstration of this bond is certainly the centrality of the short supply chain, according to the philosophy "from farm to table".

The meat that Macelleria Fratton offers its customers comes from small and non-intensive farms, located in the Veneto area, specifically in Lumini (in San Zeno di Montagna, where about 300 heads weighing approximately 200 kg are raised for 12 months) and in Nogarole Rocca (VR).

The majority of the livestock, about 80%, comes from the local area with the short-term goal of sourcing 100% native breeds.
 

Knowing what you eat: Macelleria Fratton and the transparent labeling

The meat from Macelleria Fratton mainly comes from the breeding of a particular breed of cattle: the Garronese Veneta or Blonde d'Aquitaine.

This particular meat is part of the Qualità Verificata (QV) regional brand, born from the idea of a group of butchers searching for a high-quality product while considering the traditions of typically Venetian breeding, a principle that Giovanni Fratton has also embraced.

The breeding is meticulously cared for to ensure the welfare of the animals, also through CReNBA certification (a rating system for farms developed by the IZS of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna, home of the National Reference Center for Animal Welfare).

The diet includes the right mix of nutrients, functional for the healthy growth of the animals and that gives the cuts of meat a sought-after and unique sensory profile.

There is a focus on the welfare of animals and environmental sustainability that is primarily manifested in the choice of animals that remain mostly grazing for their entire lives. As already mentioned, significant attention is also given to their feed, mostly consisting of local cereals. Innovation here is a key element for the continuous improvement of the raw materials.

An example? For a specific group of animals, in the last 3 months of breeding, an integration of chestnut flour was introduced into the diet, a highly nutritious and protein-rich product.

The result? Certainly positive, with meat that presented an organoleptically different fat, with a more intense and complex flavor, an element that sweetens and tenderizes the final product.
 

Macelleria Fratton: premium quality beef

The Garronese Veneta also possesses all the characteristics that customers seek when they want to buy a good cut of meat, such as tenderness and juiciness. These characteristics are produced by three significant factors, typical of this particular beef breed:

• the muscle texture is very fine;
• the limited quantity of fat;
• the low presence of collagen.

The aging time (also called maturation today), that is, the time interval necessary for the complete relaxation of muscle fibers, which promotes the tenderness of the product and greatly enhances the development of flavors and aromas during cooking, is a completely natural process, always exceeding 30 days for the hindquarters from which the products come.

A meat that is therefore delicate, light, and harmonious, perfect for impressing in the kitchen. Alongside the high-quality raw material, there is also the experienced hand of the Fratton family who, with skill, experience, and passion, packages and offers the best cuts of beef to the final customer, such as Rib Steak and Florentine.

Because, as we know, the final cutting technique is what makes the difference, that detail that allows for a top-quality final product. It is also worth mentioning the salted tongue, an essential product for those, like us, who have Veronese blood running in their veins. There is indeed no Sunday boiled meat without tongue, cotechino, and pearà!
 

Macelleria Fratton not just beef: pork-based products

The first products created by Macelleria Fratton decades ago were indeed salami and cotechini, sausages that are still true "flagships" of this reality today (Giovanni's words)!

In particular, among the two, we highlight the cotechino, the heart and pulsing soul of family traditions and also of the territory, we would add. But we can also mention one of the must-haves of Venetian cuisine, the Tastasale.
 

Macelleria Fratton between tradition and innovation

Tradition and innovation are two sides of the same coin for Macelleria Fratton: tradition regarding recipes and innovation mainly for the methods of preparation, utilizing low-temperature cooking and vacuum cooking, but also regarding the varieties of dishes offered to the public.

From the standpoint of variety, almost every day new products are proposed, a source of pride and a constant desire to improve. However, the most significant innovation will surely be the entry, very likely (we don’t want to speculate), of the fifth generation of the Fratton family, especially with the entry into the business of Giovanni's son, Enrico.

An essential lever for the evolution of Macelleria Fratton, according to Giovanni's words, has also been "An unparalleled team of collaborators who have been able to interpret and embrace the family values, contributing something more to the way of working and cooking". And he adds sardonically, "Don't think that I'm going to retire so easily. You'll still see me around for a while!".
 

Macelleria Fratton together with Spaghetti & Mandolino: an eye towards the future

Giovanni tells us that he is not particularly comfortable with everything online but, knowing the team at Spaghetti&Mandolino, he decided to entrust us with that trust which is so foundational to him and the philosophy of the business itself.

A strong and deep sense of involvement and trust that has pushed him to try this new path, until now unexplored, confident that the meeting of professionalism and quality of their products with the technical expertise of Spaghetti&Mandolino regarding Food e-commerce can create a unique opportunity for the development of the family business.

A forward-looking choice that nevertheless always follows another of the central values of Macelleria Fratton, namely, the satisfaction of offering their customers products that are not only liked, but that are also healthy, unique, and of quality that you will definitely never find in the supermarket, in line with the principles that have always characterized the work of Spaghetti&Mandolino.

Now that you know about Macelleria Fratton, what are you waiting for? Let yourself be conquered by their products: try it to believe it!