Authentic Bolognese sauce from Northern Irish artisan producer

La Dolce Via, the Northern Irish artisan producer of authentic Italian pasta and other products, has extended its range with the launch of a handcrafted Bolognese sauce.

Based at Portstewart in county Derry, the small company is producing and marketing the new sauce in 230g jars at RRP £4.

The sauce is based on a recipe from Puglia in southern Italy brought to Northern Ireland by La Dolce Via chef founder Gaetano Bonora. It follows the successful launch last year of an authentic Puttanesca sauce.

Bonora came to Northern Ireland to study English at Ulster University in 2015 and subsequently spotted a business opportunity to create fresh Italian pasta and sauces for local restaurants, delis and for sale at farmers' markets in Derry, Coleraine and Ballymena.

He launched La Dolce Via, a small enterprise, last year with a range of pasta and Puttanesca sauce. Bonora has worked as a chef in Puglia and Florence as well as in Northern Ireland. He has also been assisted by the food team at the North West Regional College in Derry.

"Developing an authentic Bolognese sauce from the Puglia region made good business sense to me," he says. "It was a logical development that supports the pasta products and convenience dishes such as fresh lasagne that I've now developed.

"Feedback from delis and markets about the Bolognese sauce has been extremely positive. The sauces and pasta products are all handmade by me from fresh ingredients.

"The new Bolognese sauce is low in salt and made without any preservatives. It also has high beef and pork content, both of which are locally sourced," he adds.

Bonora has also been providing Italian cookery classes to local people as part of his focus on authentic and fresh Italian products. "The classes help to increase awareness of authentic Italian dishes and cuisine," he says.