The third generation to make the most famous frozen foods in Portugal
When Attilio took to the roads of Europe, traveling was uncommon. But these early years of the last century, he felt that his mission was to continue the family tradition but also an innovation with his own signature. Third generation of gel, he left Cortina d’Ampezzo behind when he set his heart on Valencia, Spain, where “in Isabel they called Catalan Saez”. João Moraes. In the last year of that decade, the family’s first ice cream shop was born, in Praia do Tamariz, where the cone was sold at 1.5 escudos. Europe and even among royalty – the cover of the Era which portrayed Princess Maria Beatriz de Saboia enjoying herself in the Portuguese ice cream shop -, her most iconic store would only take root 20 years later.
“I remember well my childhood and my grandfather’s, how he was a friendly person; to this day it is his example that we follow on how to treat customers, personalized service, recipes, care”, says Eduardo Santini, who still keeps the memory of the times when Cascais gathers on the mythical stairs of the Avenida Valbom store, eating ice cream, is vivid. “When we’re little, we’re not even aware of what we’re seeing, it’s our reality. My life was to be there for everyone, to see them make and eat whatever ice cream I wanted.” But today he understands how much more there is in this image.
Third generation at the head of the business, like the previous one, Eduardo admits the pressure of inheritance that the previous one will last since the 12th in the Salesians. “I think we have to do a job, I think my success is a job, I think my grandfather expects a job.” This form of work, which was not forced (the more psychological brother), was first learned at the side of his grandfather, whom he is helping during the summer holidays, while his friends spend new days and unfold on the neighboring beaches; after his father, more professionally.
Follow like grandfather’s footprints
“Other than at that time, the seasons were very well marked and for me they are also defined by the cadence of milk of the first ones at which they appeared, remembering today to always see, cream, the differences. When the peaches came at the end of August, redness and smells, it was a sign that the holidays were ending”, he tells me, at the table in the store twinned with the ice cream factory where he received me.
All in all, what you see may not be from the grandfather’s time, but it shares his DNA. The machines that help the artisanal production, the ingredients that accompany the same products in shortage, taking advantage of some new ones that make the same flavors, are created by the grandson with the same precept, they are modified inventions of the same brand and model as those that generated the first of all. the Santini.
The traditional recipes, the method, the characteristics that the founder imprinted on the ice cream shop are kept in detail. But now the precept passes through 120 people who already serve the business in 12 stores (one in Porto, one in Faro and the rest in the Lisbon area).
New blood at 60, for over 60
Whenever the subject is ice cream – except to reveal lemon and chocolate as his favorite or to tell the story of how Manel’s Gelado was born, created according to the old son’s palate – Eduardo speaks in the plural. And it is understandable, because he in fact sees Santini as the fruit of the family’s work, extended to all those who contribute to making the business a success for more than 70 years.
If today he recognizes that having succeeded in management, he would have had a course made in a good way, which is very few with more consecrated knowledge than he, experience acquired from hands-on, and receiving a course in management from the crowd – “they are all known by hands in the dough” local suppliers, almost all national, because there are ingredients such as mango and saving the economy that have to come from abroad”, he explains -, creating novelties. The new dates of birth, throughout Eduardo’s creative work ( chopsticks ice creams launched every month), to the range of jar flavors, in which a partnership that generated the ice included Baileys’ tiramisu. Other surprises are being prepared for this summer, but the ice cream maker doesn’t admit that secrecy is still the soul of this business – “they are in the testing phase…”
That work is up to Eduardo and perhaps his charm has infected his children to venture into their own flavors. That’s how Manel’s Ice Cream was born. My children visited me at the store and Manel said he wanted to make an ice cream and that the pomegranate flavor with raspberry pieces. He must have been about 10 years old. Martim, two years younger, wanted to imitate and again with mozar. at this point, a reference to actually enjoying devouring frozen ones for ice cream maker reveal is not revealed. Martim’s ice cream, now 11 years old, didn’t make it – “I’ll have to try again, but the other one was interesting and we have it for sale”. Also, assume that an associated story is as interesting as the flavor, “in terms of marketing, it counts.”
This involvement of the little children comes from those few children in the world, Joana, plus the woman at the parties in Santo António and Cascais, “in one of the rare children’s parties I’ve been told” -, torn between the love of ice cream and some soul to share. those funniest times with the kids. That was also what is a partner for the decision to enter the family business.
Santini’s expansion began with his father ao le, but it was with Eduardo that he took a breath, with Filipe de Botton getting on the boat, Santini was turning 60 years old. The partnership with Filipe was very fast, because there is great harmony about what we would be and what Santini was, it gave us time and more stability to all of us. Getting it all year round, it’s good for everyone, workers and customers included”, he says. “And we have a lot not to do my grandfather, with care to preserve the tradition that comes from my grandfather badly, with great care that comes from my grandfather .”
A new leap to come
Eduardo’s tranquility suspects that it is not from great stress, but he confesses that he lost sleep when the pandemic closed like doors. “I had never gone through this, having to think about a day-to-day business, without coming up with a worse plan, thinking about how they would pay for the week. But thinking a little better about how families would survive this moment, without closing any stores and keeping the whole team”, he says. Also that hand-of-war purchase contracts are close to the entire supply chain-of-war close to the entire supply chain-of-war, from the supply-chain-of-war approximated to the entire supply chain-of-war, for the entire harvest, and that’s lacking. raise prices,” he says. “But that’s what we have to deal with.”
If it’s true that thinking about frozen foods brings happiness, Eduardo doesn’t seem to waste time with negative thoughts. When you’re not in the hustle and bustle, managing your diary or between products, used to do crossfit or padel, to take a vacation in the Troia area or in the Algarve. “Summer is our peak season, I have to stick around if I need to resolve an issue,” he explains. “People tend to only see the solar side of it, but it’s a business like any other,” he recalled.
And what would Eduardo like to do with the Santini brand? “We have already achieved a great deal and we need to be careful. As long as we can start to achieve results, we always make great efforts to achieve the great objective that we cannot maintain sustainable quality.” Then, risky: “The frozen food we manufacture is sensitive, even its characteristics – without preservatives, without hundreds, any logistics have to be very well thought out. But leaving the country would be a high point for”, he admits, before saying goodbye one day in which the showers do not allow you to guess being the first of the first.