Mateo Zielonka didn't speak English when he arrived in London with a backpack and no intention of staying longer than two weeks. And yet, it wasn't long before he found himself in the kitchen of a restaurant, washing dishes and—little did he know—well on his way to becoming a voice of influence in the food world. Zielonka parlayed his love of food—pasta specifically—from the back of the house to his own home in just a few short years, after burning out in the restaurant biz and starting an Instagram account for fun.

Today, that Instagram account—filled with soothing and hunger inspiring videos of pasta like you've never seen it before—boasts more than 250,000 followers, and has inspired a new book The Pasta Man, which features 40 of Zielonka's favorite aesthetically pleasing and equally tasty pasta recipes. We caught up with Zielonka ahead of the book's launch in the Bespoke Post shop to talk pasta, people, and how he's found success bucking Italian traditions to make dishes so beautiful you almost don't want to eat them.

Almost.

Bespoke Post: Can you tell me a little bit about your history and relationship with pasta? How did you end up here?

Mateo Zielonka: Yeah, it's kind of a fun story, really. So, I'm Polish. I used to live in Poland for 20, 21 years of my life. Never cooked in Poland really before, but I was always inspired by Italian cooking, because I'm a big fan of The Sopranos. And you know, I'm just always looking at people eating together, people sharing a meal. It's a series about mafia, really, but you know, it's this restaurant owned by Artie Bucco. Vesulvio, I think it's called. And they were having pasta, baked pastas. It's just incredible, actually. So I was always kind of inspired by it. My brother brought me a Sopranos cookbook, but I never cooked anything from it because in Poland was really difficult to get some of the ingredients. And if you are able to buy the ingredients, they were really expensive. So I never really enjoy making an recipe from this cookbook, which was quite funny.

Then, I visited my best friend in London nine years ago, just for two weeks. I had really good job in Poland, and then they asked me if I would love to join the restaurant as a kitchen porter. I joined this restaurant just after they opened for three of four months. And there, I made my first pasta dough. And I was just thinking, "Wow, it's incredible, actually." You know, the experience of touching the dough, and everything about it was just incredible. But we used to serve six, seven hundred people a day. I lost like seven, eight kilos in the first month, because it was so busy. And I left, but after a year or two, but then I just decided Bloody hell, I'm missing pasta so much. So I bought myself pasta machine, and I started to roll some pasta at home. And four years ago, I decided to create an Instagram about it, my kind of adventure with pasta. So I used to make pasta every day, then I start playing with colors and trying to express a bit of art, really. Everything happens so quickly. Which is amazing.

BP: I was curious how you went from falling in love with pasta, to really creating this art form. You're not just making a dish. You're making a piece of art. How did it transition towards that?

MZ: It is really interesting, because people always used to think that pasta should be made with egg dough or semolina dough, and should be classic. I try to respect tradition, but I also think it's good to inspire people. First of all, you can reduce waste and look after the planet. For example, you have one or two beets in the fridge, and you're just thinking, What shall we do with them? Maybe you could do colorful pasta. So one thing was thinking about bit of environment, and not wasting as much food at home.

The second thing was pushing myself to create. I’ve done the Burberry pasta for Burberry, which was kind of very interesting project. I think the sky is the limit with food. What if you could create something different? You could put something online and ask people “What does this remind you of?" First as a kind of engagement with people, but also showing people that [cooking] is good for mental health. It's being on your own, making your dough and just thinking, "What should I do today? Should I laminate the leaves? Should I make three color pasta?" I just think it brings people joy to do stuff like that, pushing yourself. Especially with kids, they love it.

BP: How does it feel looking back now, that you had this idea to start doing this, and now you have enough methods to have created a whole book?

MZ: It’s incredible. Writing a book, I was just thinking I was so happy. It's such a big thing, to write a cookbook. And then you write the cookbook and you're thinking, "I'm so proud of it." [But also] "Okay, what next?” You know, lots more people, creators are making colorful pasta, which is really lovely. So now I'm thinking, Okay, what you can do that’s different? What you can do better? It’s positively challenging.

Editor's Note: Want to make pasta like Mateo? He shared the secret here.

BP: I can imagine it's challenging to become so popular for this method, and then see other people starting to do it.

MZ: I just think food is common to everyone. This is the beautiful thing. This is the beauty of it.

BP: There's something very satisfying about watching your videos on Instagram. Do you aim for that, to evoke some sort of comfort? Are you aware of that ASMR quality to these videos?

MZ: I mean, it's interesting. I know pasta making in general is really satisfying, especially because mostly you use eggs. I'm very lucky to have such good produce. And I found such an amazing egg company.

BP: I was curious about that, because your egg yolks look so deep and rich in color. I've never seen egg yolks that color before, but it's so soothing and satisfying to look at.

"I would rather support smaller businesses, knowing their values, and knowing that they really care about their hens."

MZ: It is incredible. The eggs having very bright color is because of the diet they have, or because of the space they have. It's Happy Hens, a small family run business. I think it's always important to represent your values.

BP: I think that was the first thing I noticed looking at your Instagram account, was those eggs. I knew there had to be something special about those eggs.

MZ: Yes. So they have special feed, which is marigold petals, a bit of paprika, and other stuff. And they have lot of space. I would rather support smaller businesses, knowing their values, and knowing that they really care about their hens. And it's the same about flour, about cheese, everything really.

BP: You said that at the beginning, making pasta, it felt good for your mental health, it was therapeutic. Do you still find it therapeutic, even at this level that you're making it now, and the volume that you have to produce, and everything that's happened for you? Do you still find getting into the kitchen and making it, even if it's for a book or for Instagram, is it therapeutic for you still?

MZ: When I joined the restaurant, I quit after three or four months. I went somewhere else because I didn't enjoy as much as I enjoy it now. I think I realized that after some period of time. And you know, the last two years has been really tough for everyone. So I have been really lucky. But I still love to be alone with myself making pasta, because then you don't think about anything else. You think about the textures. It’s good for a mental health in general, like making sourdough or pasta, because you feel it. You’re working with your hands. It’s a really lovely thing.

BP: So what is your favorite dish to make, if you had to pick one?

MZ: Oh gosh. I mean, I think it's really tricky. I really like classics. Slow-cooked tomatoes, basil, burrata on top. Oh, it's so good. Just some green salad on the side, or steamed broccoli. And a glass of red wine.

BP: Can you tell me a little bit about 180 Pasta?

MZ: 180 Pasta is kind of my project, which I created last year as a fun thing, really. We have a building in the central of London. We have exhibition space, which we host artists from Japan, and many, many more places. It’s a really interesting space, very creative. So 180 Pasta possibly will become a food platform to share recipes, and showcase young talent, empowering people who are struggling to be seen. So that's my kind of idea, because I was really lucky, you know? Lots of people supported me from U.S. It would be quite nice to give something back.

BP: Do you try to stick to Italian traditions?

MZ: I don't stick to Italian traditions. I mean, I know Italian traditions. And it's kind of interesting, but Italians are very conservative. And it's very, very difficult. So I had many situations where I’d cook something and Italians said, "Oh, it's like my grandmother's. Amazing." But then they ask you how you cooked it. And you said this way or this way. And they just say, "No, it's impossible. You shouldn't cook like that." I'm just thinking, "You just said it was delicious!"

BP: So what are the essential tools and equipment that you use to make your masterpieces?

MZ I mean, the basic thing is always a gnocchi board. My kind of essential are always cavarola boards, a pasta machine, a rolling pin. It depends on how comfortable you are. I think it's always important to have a ruler with you. It's important to have a ravioli cutter. It makes your life so much easier.

BP: What are some of your commandments of making pasta? Are there any rules that you always follow?

MZ: I think I was more kind of following the rules before. Because with pasta, it's tricky. If I go abroad, and I’m trying to make even my own recipe, because the weight of the egg is different, and the humidity is different in every single continent, the pasta will be tiny bit different. I always say to people, don't be afraid of rolling, because you can do something wrong, and the pasta will be kind of breaking a little, you can always fix stuff. If the pasta is too moist, you can reroll it. It's not a pastry. That’s the plus of it.

I think you always need to be respectful of covering the pasta dough—always. So you roll tiny bits, and you cover the rest. You use the scraps, freeze them, use them for a soup. Are there rules in making pasta? I think, not so many. I think you should be respectful towards the produce, especially if you use Italian flour, and they are shipping it straight through from Bologna, it's important to be respectful and not waste the dough.

BP: What else can you tell us about the book?

MZ: The main message, I think in life, really, is encouraging people to cook more. And I think so pasta is one of the most kind of popular foods around the globe. Don't you think?

BP: I think it's something we can all agree on.

Images Courtesy of India Hobson

Mateo Zielonka and the (New) Art of Pasta Making