Men on a mission would be the best way to describe Marco Giannantonio and Maurizio Mastrangelo, who set up the Flavour of Italy Group in 2005, hell bent on promoting Italian food and wine 'in Ireland and other foreign countries'.
Their Pinocchio restaurants (Ranelagh and Temple Bar) were an immediate hit, thanks to their authenticity and good value - but, although that's still what they're best known for in Dublin, it's only the tip of their entrepreneurial iceberg.
It seems there is no relevant area of endeavour left unexplored, with divisions of the business offering successful offshoots like outside catering and speciality products, and also an Italian travel service, which is run from their Italian office in the capital of the Molise region, Campobasso, and operates speciality tours with a focus on food and culture.
