The pasta lady behind F.U.C.K.

There is no better story to tell than those of people whose love for food runs so deep that—no matter where life takes them—their passion finds a way. Such is the story of Rhealyn Manzano, a 39-year-old accountant who, in the middle of a successful career, decided to pack her bags and fly to Italy to learn the art of Italian cooking.

Today, she makes and sells fresh pasta, particularly ravioli, under her budding business: Farina.

Where cooking was a family affair

Interestingly, pasta wasn’t always her strongest suit. In fact, there was a time when cooking pasta for Italians intimidated her. And with good reason… that was in Italy, of all places.

Manzano grew up in a household where cooking was a family affair. Her mother worked while her father looked after the children, did the cooking, and taught them to cook, too. All the siblings learned their way around the kitchen—although Manzano laughingly declares, “I’m the best of them all, of course!”

She particularly loved preparing the family’s Christmas and New Year meals. As early as November, she would already be planning what to cook. When she eventually left for Italy, her family missed her cooking terribly.

From passion to business

Manzano also had a knack for business. In college, she made polvoron to sell to her classmates. She eventually became an accountant and built a comfortable corporate career.

Then came the pandemic. Like many enterprising Filipinos during COVID, Manzano started a keto food business. And it did well, but she longed to learn more. Hence, in her mid-30s, she put her career and business aside and left for Italy to study cooking.

After her studies, she interned at a restaurant and was eventually hired. She learned much, but there was also the reality of earning a living. “The pay wasn’t good,” she admits.

Manzano had been earning considerably more back home, but her keto business had stopped while she was away. With her savings dwindling, she decided to return to Manila. “I had to come back because I needed money,” she tells me.

And I found that refreshingly honest. She had learned that passion alone doesn’t pay the bills.

Catchy, bold, and memorable

Back home, Manzano began thinking about what business to start. She knew how to make fresh pasta and believed there was room for it in the local market. In Italy, while her colleagues seemed to know instinctively when pasta was perfectly cooked, Manzano relied on a timer.

Yet the very thing that once intimidated her would become her specialty.

She started making fresh pasta at home—experimenting with shapes, fillings, and sauces. Ravioli particularly captured her imagination. One of her favorites is a potato-filled ravioli flavored with herbs. It sounds simple, but as she explains, there is much more going on inside that little parcel of dough.

I had the pleasure of tasting her ravioli and thought it wonderful, as was the sauce she served with it. And so, Farina was born.

There is, however, an interesting backstory. Farina means flour in Italian, an appropriate name for a pasta business. But its full name is actually Farina Urban Café & Kitchen. Put the initials together, and you get F.U.C.K.

The inspiration behind the name? While living in Florence, Manzano came across a magazine called “Florence Urban Cocktail & Kitchen.” She found the acronym catchy, bold, and memorable.

“I loved the contemporary, creative spirit behind it,” she shares. So when she began developing her own business, she decided to bring a little of that Florentine playfulness home.

A new concept taking shape

For now, Farina operates from her home kitchen, where Manzano makes fresh pasta and is exploring opportunities to supply restaurants and cafés. But making pasta in Manila comes with its own challenges. With imported Italian flour being expensive, she uses local flour blended with semolina, adjusting her recipes to suit our heat and humidity.

She also offers different fillings to suit different preferences—vegetarian, seafood, pork, and meat. And her inspiration extends beyond Italy. She is particularly fascinated by pasta makers in Brazil and their creativity with ravioli shapes and fillings.

Manzano’s dream of opening her own pasta café is now becoming a reality. This November, she is set to open Farina Urban Café & Kitchen—a café and pasta bar along Tomas Morato in Quezon City.

The concept she first imagined is finally taking shape—a place serving handmade pasta, coffee, and aperitivo, with a studio for weekend workshops where people can make pasta, have a drink, and enjoy themselves.

For Manzano, it is an exciting new chapter. And what I find particularly interesting about her journey is that she hasn’t abandoned the practical side of herself in pursuit of her dream.

She is simply—and happily—juggling both.

Follow F.U.C.K. on Instagram @farina.urban.cafe.kitchen

Culurgiones

Ingredients

Pasta dough

150 g semolina flour

75 g water

Potato filling

250 g potatoes

25 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Olive oil, as needed

Nutmeg, to taste

Fresh parsley, finely minced

Procedures

Prepare the filling

1. Boil the potatoes, unpeeled, until they are completely tender. Once cooked, drain and allow them to cool slightly.

2. Peel the potatoes and mash them in a bowl until smooth.

3. Finely chop the parsley and add it to the mashed potatoes.

4. Add the grated Parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a small amount of nutmeg. Mix well until all the ingredients are evenly combined.

5. Set aside and allow the filling to cool completely.

Prepare the pasta dough

1. Place the semolina flour in a large bowl. Slowly add the water while mixing continuously with your hand or a spoon.

2. Continue mixing until the dough comes together and no dry flour remains.

3. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead for 7 to 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.

4. Wrap the dough in cling film or place it in a covered bowl. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.

Roll and cut the pasta

1. Cut off a portion of the rested dough, while keeping the remaining dough covered so it does not dry out.

2. Roll the dough through a pasta machine until you have a thin, smooth sheet.

3. Using an 8 cm round cookie cutter, cut out circles from the pasta sheet.

4. Keep the pasta circles covered while you work to prevent them from drying out.

Shape the culurgiones

1. Place one pasta circle in the palm of your hand. Place 1 heaped teaspoon of the potato filling in the center, being careful not to overfill.

2. Using your index finger, gently push the pasta toward the filling at the bottom.

3. Fold the left side of the pasta toward the center and gently pinch to seal.

4. Fold the right side toward the center and pinch to seal.

5. Continue alternating between the left and right sides, creating the characteristic braided or wheat-ear pattern of culurgiones.

6. Once you reach the top, pinch the tip firmly to seal. Repeat with the remaining pasta circles and filling.

Cook and serve

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and season generously with salt. Carefully drop the culurgiones into the boiling water.

2. Cook for approximately 3 to 5 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and the culurgiones rise to the surface.

3. Remove with a slotted spoon or drain carefully.

4. Serve immediately with a cooked tomato sauce and finish with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, if desired. Buon appetito!