Pila Vecia

The story of Ferron is a story of "pilots," not those of motorsport. The Pilots were the workers in the rice transformation mills who turned paddy rice into pearl rice for sale.
 

Old Mill from Isola della Scala

It is said that the first of the family was Gabriele's great-grandfather, Luigi Zecchetto, who oversaw numerous mills in the area of Isola della Scala in the province of Verona. One of his daughters married Marcello Ferron, who continued his father-in-law's business and then passed on the passion and knowledge to his son Lionello and his grandsons Gabriele and Maurizio, the current managers of the rice mill. Since he was 14 years old, Gabriele has felt a strong passion for cooking and began working in numerous restaurants in the city of Verona. He later returned to the family business, specializing in rice-based dishes.
 

A curiosity about Old Mill 

Gabriele is the only chef in history to have cooked a risotto on the Great Wall of China in 1997. Since 1991, he has been a Knight of Labor of the Republic. He stands out as the greatest promoter of Vialone Nano Veronese rice worldwide. He cooked for Casa Italia during the Olympics in Beijing. In 2004, Gabriele was recognized with the title of Ambassador of Rice in the World. Today he remains an tireless globetrotter of rice with a great desire to live and smile at life!