Mea libera tutti! was the first gluten free shop to open in Venice in 2009. Actually it was the first of the first because before it there were none in the region of Veneto.
Azzura, the owner, is a true life force: smart, lively, funny. When I worked for the Venice Biennale this year, it was a pleasure for me to go to her shop, have a nice chat with her and Enrico, her husband and buy delicious gluten free food.
The name of the shop comes from an Italian expression that children use when they play hide and seek. The last child who touches the wall and screams “Mea libera tutti!! - frees everybody. That has inspired Azzurra’s philosophy: to provide the best gluten free food so that everybody can enjoy it freely and safely.
Besides selling mainstream gluten free brands, Azzurra is constantly looking for more artisanal ones like the Buranellini biscuits from the Venitian brand Palmisano, I loved them!
What makes her shop really unique is … cake baking! Azzurra is specialised in supplying all the ingredients that you might need to create the perfect gluten free cake and they are all are gluten free certified, so completely free of gluten and safe from cross contamination with gluten.
Her wish is to have her child who is celiac like herself (and myself 😉 enjoy the same sweets as other children do. And in the end all the other children keep coming to her shop wanting those same yummy gluten free products.
It is hard to believe how many amazing gluten free products for cakes she has collected during the years: from the xanthan gum, so useful for baking, to top quality cane sugar, the Frozen disc ring, many chocolates and even macarons.
If you are a child (and an adult as well), you can splurge in a wide range of candies, chupa chups, chewing gums. The good news is that they are allgluten free certified otherwise they don’t make their way in Azzura’s shop.
Besides being a mum, running her own shop, Azzurra is always instructing local restaurants and cafés that wish to learn how to cook gluten free food that is safe and good.
All the gluten free places in Venice where I went to have been trained by Azzurra. She tells me that recently she has organised a course to instruct a summer camp in Venice - the Voga Camp - to cook gluten free, so now all children on vacation from school, celiac and not, can enjoy gluten free food freely and happily.
Grazie Azzurra!
I was stoked to find this gluten free gem in amongst the hustle and bustle of Venice. It’s a little tricky to find but worth it. Their store helped me stock up on gluten free food for the rest of my European holiday. I was so taken with them, my husband and I crafted an impromptu promo for them: https://youtu.be/M8yxDVQcg9o
I am so happy that it was useful - Azzurra the owner of Mea is an incredible woman - and I love your video! Thank you.