30 DAYS OPEN PURCHASEIn 1930 Otello Marcato built a machine in the Veneto. It was meant to do what Italian hands had done for centuries – roll an egg dough into thin, even sheets – but faster, more evenly and without the whole morning disappearing. It became Marcato's first manual pasta machine and the start of a family business that still, almost a hundred years later, makes its machines in Campodarsego near Padua.
This machine bears his name, and it's a tribute to that very first machine. Otello is a limited collector's edition in Marcato's Heritage range, and it's made to be on display. The body is aluminium anodised to a warm champagne tone, a soft golden sheen more reminiscent of a fine wristwatch than a kitchen tool. The base and dial are solid wood treated with natural oil, and the dark grain makes a beautiful contrast with the light metal. It's a machine you stop and look at.
And it's as beautiful to use as it is to look at. The wooden handle of the crank sits warmly in your hand, and as you turn it you feel the rollers grip the dough and draw it in at a calm, steady pace. The rollers are made of food-grade anodised aluminium with a slightly rough surface, giving the pasta a porous texture that sauce clings to just as it should. The graduated dial lets you choose between seven thicknesses, from the first coarse pass to a sheet so thin the light shines through. Sheets are up to 15 cm wide, and with the cutting rollers they become fettuccine and tagliolini.
Every part is carefully chosen and assembled by hand, and you can tell in the details. The combs under the rollers can be removed, so the machine is easy to keep clean, and everything else is built to last. This isn't a pasta machine you replace after a few years. It's a pasta machine you pass on.
Otello is made and assembled in Italy. Dimensions approx. 22.5 x 17.5 x 18 cm, weight approx. 2.8 kg. Wipe the machine with a dry cloth after use. Let dough residue dry for half an hour, then brush it away with a dry brush. The machine is not dishwasher safe and must not be rinsed with water. Should always be on display.
