An interview with the founders
Let’s discover the project On Fleek through the words of the founders, three Florentine girls who share a common passion. That is, a passion for quality cuisine.
Who are you?
We are three Florentine friends who have always been passionate about good food and everything surrounding the great food and wine culture that is part of our city. It’s not just a matter enjoying food; we love going behind the scenes; we take time to talk to the waiters, to find out more about the dishes served, the ingredients used, and the way the food is prepared.
Our nourishment comes from the stories that underlie the finished dish because this is the only way to discover excellence.
We have always believed that what we eat is not merely food; we actually “eat” an experience and what we ultimately find in the dish marks the conclusion of a unique trip that each cuisine, each chef, each restaurateur embarks upon every day in order to surprise and appease our palates.
What does On Fleek mean?
This is slang that comes from the web. It’s a terms that has come into use on the social media in recent years and expresses positive judgment of the dishes and their makeup. It means “splendid, brilliant, super cool.”
How did the idea of On Fleek come about and what does it entail?
We always fantasized about creating something in the food and wine sector and we continued to talk about this since, years ago, we discovered a common passion. The idea of On Fleek came about at a time when the food and wine sector was suffering enormously due the first lockdown in March 2020 and was spurred by a sentiment of great solidarity during a time which is hard to forget.
We spoke every day and managed to join our energies to create something positive, a way to react to what appeared to be a catastrophic situation.
We wanted to create something that was missing in the food and wine sector – for the restaurants and their clients and for all those who were passionate about quality cuisines. This is how On Fleek came about, an all-women project, with which we want to revamp the Florentine food and wine sector.
In two words, what is On Fleek?
Two words are simply not enough to describe a project created with our hearts and all our energies. On Fleek has two souls: one soul gives us new ideas and suggestions, a real guide for all those who want to find new places where to eat well in Florence. Thanks to a dedicated blog, anyone passionate about a good cuisine now has an updated tool for finding the very best places to enjoy the city’s food and wine. This is why we chose Caterina de Medici as the star of our video. Who else could best reflect quality and innovation in cuisine.
The other soul is for the restaurateurs and aims to give visibility to all the wonderful realities of our city which offer so much and haven’t yet achieved the kind of great visibility they deserve and want to achieve. On Fleek offers the city’s excellent restaurateurs digitalization services which can help increase their turnover through visibility on the web by means of an e-commerce platform on the restaurant’s web site; other ideas include sponsored packages to attract potential clients and ethical delivery which provides total visibility for the restaurant, is economically sustainable and does not exploit, as elsewhere, the delivery people.
Why do you avoid appearing?
We honestly do not see why we should. Our entire project is based on providing visibility for the restaurants: we provide support services for the food and wine sector; we want to give this fantastic sector an opportunity for rebirth and modernization and a way to become a part of an increasingly more fruitful future.
We do not want to steal the limelight from the restaurant in order to promote our brand. In fact, in developing the services, our focus was on the restaurants who always played the main role; we work behind the scenes to help the restaurants in offering new services to their clients.