A Self-Taught Path to Pasta
When Mateo Zielonka landed in London in 2013, he had never cooked professionally—and barely spoke English. He started as a kitchen porter, learned on the line, and discovered fresh pasta almost by accident. At home, he bought a pasta machine to relieve stress. The shapes were “tragic,” he admits now, but the obsession took root.
By the time the pandemic arrived, Zielonka was already head chef at 180 Strand, rolling out eight tons of fresh pasta a year. Then came the viral videos: short clips of striped ravioli or hand-shaped cavatelli, filmed in his conservatory with a bed sheet hung for lighting. His following shot from 10,000 to nearly a million. Around the world, people wrote to him about making homemade pasta with their children, or reconnecting to family memories. “It wasn’t about money,” he says. “It was about sharing something special.”
The Final Chapter in His Pasta Trilogy
Zielonka has already published two cookbooks: The Pasta Man, full of colorful doughs, and Pasta Masterclass, a deep dive into shaping techniques. With Pasta Pronto, he wanted something different.
“This one is about time,” he explains. “The world has changed—people are busy, stressed, sometimes they don’t plan meals. I wanted to create a pasta cookbook with fewer shapes but very quick sauces.”
The structure reflects that:
- Pronto Pronto!: nine ultra-fast recipes, ready in 15–20 minutes.
- Pronto!: heartier plates, usually around half an hour.
- Not So Pronto: slower weekend projects like ragù or ravioli.
It’s his third and final pasta book—“my trilogy,” he calls it, half-jokingly comparing himself to Neo in The Matrix.
