Meet Paul Bertolli: Curemaster At Berkeley's Fra' Mani

Paul Bertolli is a talented man who plays to his own symphonic mission. He calls himself the “curemaster” of his food company, Fra’ Mani. But his reach is broader than overseer of fermented meat products. Bertolli’s goal is to orchestrate Americans back to the taste of meat before agribusiness industrialized the food supply.

“I realized that the delicatessen case had shrunk to the trinity of ham, roast beef and white turkey. Large meat processers controlled how animals were treated in confined spaces and what products were sold. Old-World sausage makers were dying out. I wanted to make naturally cured meats,” said Bertolli, who founded Fra’ Mani (meaning ‘between, or among hands’ in Italian) in West Berkeley eight years ago.

The simple décor of the sun-yellow Fra’ Mani conference room reflects his mission. Facing the entrance is a framed photo of a man’s hand slicing turkey galantine; the next shows fluffy mounds of mortadella lolling in front of an upright piece of the cooked salumi. There are no company logos or retail packs of the salami and sausages produced in the facility at 8th and Gilman. Bertolli endorses the hands slicing the meat.

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