Our Story
There must be a reason why a young lad from Burmarrad, a little farming village located up north on the island of Malta, decided to make Ravioli (aka as 'Ravjul ta Malta') by hand, at the age of 17.
Giovanna
David Briffa is the founder of 'Tal-Genwin', but the real inspiration behind all this is probably his Mum, Giovanna. She passed on her passion for homemade and handmade quality. As a young child, David would spend hours observing (and later helping) his Mum make 'Ravjul ta Malta' by hand. Literally, Giovanna, used to make each and every 'ravjula' by hand, on her Kitchen bench using fresh ġbejniet, the Maltese Goat's cheese, as a filling.
A couple of years later, Jacqueline, David's wife asked him whether he could help prepare some food for the guests attending their sons' birthday party. David, promptly suggested Ravioli! Only issue though, this happened on a weekend and back then you'd rarely find a grocery or convenience store open at that time on a tiny Malta! They had no ricotta, nor ġbejniet (Maltese cheese), at home. A solution had to be found.
David gave his father, Joe, a ring who in turn suggested that he had some fresh artichokes. David's father is a traditional farmer (he still farms the Maltese countryside till this very day). That was it, Ravioli with artichoke hearts.
The family feast arrived and David invited everyone to try out his ravioli. Success, everybody loved them and now, each time a similar occasion happens in the Briffa family, they expect (with no exception) some fresh Maltese 'ravjul' for all to enjoy. A couple of months later, another family party, and again, they all requested some fresh ‘ravjul ta Malta’.
As the Maltese saying goes 'għogobhom ix-xogħol', meaning, 'they loved what has been created'.
Noticing such, Giovanna, then encouraged David to take his love for cooking Maltese food a step further, they set up a 'small factory' at his mum’s 'razzett' and she helped him sell the ravioli to family and friends in the surrounding Maltese villages, such as St Paul’s Bay, Mellieha and Mgarr.
Alessio & Josephine
Fast forward to 2012, after getting married, David and Jacqueline plug up some courage to take things a step forward. With the help of Jacqueline’s parents, Alessio and Josephine, they set up in a small but state-of-the-art frozen foods production facility.
Since 2012, both David and Jacqueline have always thrived to focus on preparing quality fresh frozen foods that would appeal to all the families in Malta and Gozo. Today, the range of fresh frozen foods includes baked pasta, party food, pastizzi, pastry, pies, pizza, ravioli, tortellini and more.
Our Brands
The ‘Tal-Ġenwin’ is available both on our online frozen foods shop here and many grocery and/or convenience food shops across Malta. In addition, maybe not many are aware of this but David and Jacqueline also produce the brand ‘Clara’ for the Pavi Qormi and Pama Mosta supermarkets. In other words, what once started in Burmarrad is now available across Malta and Gozo, from Qormi to Nadur.
Traditional Recipes
Times have passed, traditions remain. The recipes behind our products haven't changed since the days when our founder, David, literally helped his mother prepare ravioli or a pizza on her kitchen bench. The love for quality homemade food, freshness and that Maltese taste remains and this is why we decided to specifically call ourselves 'tal-Ġenwin' since it's a genuine, locally made product, by a Maltese family, in the heart of Mosta. This is our story and we very much hope that you also taste our choice of fresh frozen traditional pasta, pizza, pies and party food.
Modern Standards
Our facility complies with all the required health, safety and hygiene standards. Our facilities in Mosta are fully HAACP certified and compliant since 2013! Hygiene, just like taste, is something we will never compromise with. In fact, one of our recent investments is a top quality cold room, designed to keep our products at the optimal temperature which would in turn ensure better tasting frozen pizzas, pies, ravioli and party bites.