Explorer Marco Polo is accredited with discovering pasta while travelling the Silk Road to China - but it was the Italians who perfected it.

Pastificio Fellini is owned and managed by award-winning Italian restaurateurs the Percuoco family and partners Raffaele Di Benedetto and Richard Burt who produce artisan-style pasta in the best Italian traditions.

The Gold Coast-based boutique pasta factory has experienced rapid growth in the fine food industry fuelled by demand created from word of mouth. The award-winning pasta shop wholesales nationally and internationally, with a strong clientele in Sydney, Melbourne and South East Queensland.

Pastificio Fellini represents Australian pasta perfection with an endless selection of fine pasta products that will satisfy the cravings of any food lover - from a gourmet chef to an unexperienced novice cook.

Pastificio Fellini director Carlo Percuoco, said the pasta shop at Marina Mirage is more than just homemade pasta, with each product the result of extensive research by food technologists and of course the most important ingredient, passion.

Raffaele Di Benedetto is a master pasta maker, a true artist. He makes a range of filled pasta, all sorts of styles and shapes. Anna Percuoco makes superb sauces to accompany them.

Customers will find every type of fresh and dry pasta at Pastificio Fellini, including fettuccine, rigatoni, spaghetti, pasta lunga and fettuccine. Dried pasta products include linguette, conchiglie giganti, fettuccine, safron linguette, squid ink linguette and squid in conchiglie giganti, amongst others.

The Fellini team have sourced special grains to make the flour creating the perfect pasta. The flour is made especially additive free and unbleached then mixed with mineral rich spring waters matched with those found in Italy.

The durum wheat flour used at Pastificio Fellini is now considered one of the best in the world. Australian flour is exported to a number of countries and now the famous pasta making companies in Italy are looking at buying the Australian product.

Pasta consumers often underestimate the complexities behind making first-rate fresh pasta. Over the last few years, the Fellini team have imported a number of pasta making machines from Italy and studied the entire process of making pasta by working with a range of specialists.

“We have a machine to make flat pasta in any thickness and in different styles, filled pasta like ravioli or tortellini in almost any shape desired by the customer,” said Carlo Percuoco.

While Carlo focuses on the pasta, Anna Cacace’s speciality is home-style Italian cuisine.

“I make five classic sauces to accompany the pasta and then make special sauces depending on the customer’s desired taste. I also work with Raffaele on the recipes for the filled pastas. I do most of the cooking, something I really enjoy,” she said.

Anna’s classic sauces include puttanesca, a flavoursome blend of anchovies, olive, garlic and oil. The classic napoli sauce is made from garden fresh tomatoes flavoured with basil, garlic and olives.

The success of the unique pasta products can be measured by the level of customer approval created in Ristorante Fellini each day.

Carlo and his partners Raffaele Di Benedetto, Anna Cacace and Richard Burt operate the Pastificio Fellini pasta laboratory behind their award-winning Italian Restaurant, Fellini at Marina Mirage on the Gold Coast.

Pasta is made fresh and sold either fresh packed, dried or frozen. Exotic fillings include duck, spinach and ricotta and crab.