Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546553
LAURA CALLEJA lcalleja@mediatoday.com.mt 2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 SEPTEMBER 2026 FOOD Patience: The secret ingredient EVER wondered what the num- ber one skill you need to have to make pastizzi is? According to the founder of A Pastizzi Experi- ence, Michela Cammarota Cefai, the number one skill is patience. Michela began her journey eight years ago, first working with her nanna, before setting up her own business: A Pastizzi Experience. As of April 2026, she began welcoming guests to her atelier in the heart of Birkirkara. As one of Malta's oldest towns, the location, with its cobbled streets, goes hand in hand with teaching the art of making pas- tizzi. She has recently also added im- qaret and ġelat tan-Nanna to her teaching repertoire. Pastizzi are a traditional sa- voury pastry, usually with a filling of either ricotta (pasti- zzi tal-irkotta) or curried peas (pastizzi tal-piżelli). They are a popular, well-known tradition- al Maltese fast food sold from a pastizzerija—a street food shop. And these outlets can be found across the island, on practically every corner. In recent years, flavours have been expanded with the inclu- sion of chicken, Nutella and minced meat. But many people will tell you they still prefer the original, with their own twists, such as adding both sugar and cinnamon to the ricotta pastizz for a mix of sweet and salty. MaltaToday sat in on a class Michela was teaching, which for that session happened to be an American family. They had no ties to Malta, but had heard about the street food and want- ed to learn how to make it. One of them likened it to a dumpling, stating, "I guess every country/ culture has their own take on a dumpling!" And it's true; across many different countries, you will find different takes on the dumpling. From China, where they are called jiaozi, to Poland, where they're called pierogi. After class was over, the sur- faces had been cleaned and the American family left, thorough- ly happy with what they'd made. Even if the kids were very scepti- cal, they all gave it a good try. Mi- chela sat down with us to discuss opening the company: "I real- ised there was a lacuna in Malta. There was nobody really teach- ing Maltese food in general and I did study tourism studies, so it helped. It's like, let me just give it a shot. And the shot became my full-time job." Regarding the recipe she uses, Michela says she taught herself. "I looked at many different reci- pes online and they all say some- thing different. They're all skip- ping a step, they all have their own twist to it." Practice makes perfect and af- ter a few failed times, she now can confidently say that her "pas- tizzi are pretty good". She adds that people booking her classes can expect two hours of messy play. "Their hands are going to get dirty; they're going to do the dough from scratch." Michela enjoys the experience because she also gets to meet people who like food. And her clientele is 50% Maltese and 50% foreigners. Regarding the latter Regarding the recipe she uses, Michela says she taught herself. "I looked at many different recipes online and they all say something different. They're all skipping a step, they all have their own twist to it." Michela Cammarota Cefai (centre) captured teaching a class how to make pastizzi (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday