Americans love deli meats, but they have been craving something more than your average cold cuts. Fra’ Mani entered the scene in 2006 to help foodservice and retail customers elevate their deli selections with traditional, chef-driven products. The California-based company was founded by Paul Bertolli, a James Beard Award-winning chef and author of the cookbook “Cooking by Hand,” and Tom Garrity, who was a lawyer before joining the meat industry.

Fra’Mani sells salami, cooked salumi and smoked sausages sourced from family farms that are committed to sustainable production practices. Though Fra’ Mani officially launched in 2006, the idea for the company truly began much earlier, said Fra’ Mani Head of Brand Jason Sullivan.

“Paul’s grandfather was a master salumiere and Paul was a union butcher in his teens,” Sullivan said. “He’s had a salami cellar in his home for almost 30 years and it’s always been a passion.”

Once Bertolli saw strong, increasing demand for his salumi, he decided to turn his salumi-making skills into a profession. Bertolli met Garrity in college at this time, who was looking for something new, and the two joined forces to create their own company.

“But it wasn’t just any salumi company. It was a different type of company utilizing different methods…traditional Italian methods…where the quality and taste were like no other and their commitment to the land and environment were like no other,” Sullivan said.

Animal welfare and husbandry are top priorities for Fra’ Mani. Sullivan said the company sources the top 1-2% highest-grade pigs from small family farms. All Fra’ Mani products are free from nitrates, accelerants, antibiotics, artificial growth hormones and meat by-products.

The company maintains a chef-driven mindset in its entire product line, which Sullivan said incorporates balance, technique and patience together to craft offerings that highlight the meat, rather than mask it. A large aspect of the chef-driven mindset is time. “We don’t’ choose the easy way out,” Sullivan said. “Time plays an important role in what makes something excellent vs. good. For us, the right amount of time is nonnegotiable.”

The chef-driven mindset aligns with the company’s emphasis on animal welfare and husbandry. “At the highest level, we promote and protect what’s good for the land animals, and people as an ecosystem,” Sullivan said. “And that naturally dovetails into taking a chef-driven approach to the making. It starts with sourcing the best possible ingredients. We choose from the top 2% available in North America – family farms, hogs raised right, no antibiotics.”

“We then treat it like a chef vs. a meat company—the right cuts, treated the right way; nuance and balanced seasoning so that the meat is hero; time-consuming methods to ensure optimum flavor and texture,” he said.

The name Fra’ Mani translates to “between or among hands,” honoring the company’s chef-driven mindset and the tradition of sharing a high-quality meal, Sullivan noted.

Fra’ Mani has won various awards over the years, including 12 Good Food awards, four sofis and many other international prizes. In 2023 alone, Fra’ Mani won five medals – more than any other American or Italian producer – at the World Charcuterie Awards in London, including a Best in Class – Salami for their Toscano, which also won a Gold Medal. Last year the company introduced their first Guanciale, which has been a great success with chef customers.

“We’re always looking at ways to grow the brand and business in the right way that feels true to who we are,” Sullivan said. “We’re creative at our core and respect tradition at the same time.”

www.provisoneronline.com   |  APRIL 2025