Eva's Story: Bringing Sicily to San Francisco

More than a decade ago, I moved from Italy to San Francisco with my young children — carrying suitcases, memories, and the ache of distance from family. In a new country, our kitchen became my sanctuary. One afternoon, while waiting for my children to come home from school, I found myself thinking of my grandmother, Margherita — and the dessert she would prepare for us in Sicily: cocoa salami. Despite its name, it contains no meat. It’s a playful chocolate confection made with cocoa and cookies, shaped like a traditional salami and sliced into rounds. Recreating it for my children brought a piece of our Sicilian heritage into our new home. As friends gathered around our table, I began sharing it — and I will never forget their astonished smiles when they realized that what looked like cured meat was actually rich chocolate. That moment — surprise, curiosity, joy — became something more. Emporio Zeva was born from those gatherings. From resilience. From nostalgia. From the desire to transform a family recipe into a modern ritual. Each slice of our Cocoa Salami carries the legacy of Grandma Margherita — blending Sicilian tradition with California craftsmanship. Slice thin. Serve slow. Share generously.