Rossela never imagined she would be happy selling food on the street when she embarked on this “adventure,” as she calls it. “When I had the idea of making a panzerotti cart, I thought of having someone else make them for me. But then I realized that I enjoy being on the street and interacting with people,” she says. A gastronomist, business consultant, and cooking teacher, she admired Brazil since she was a child. She listened to Brazilian music, read Jorge Amado, and imagined what the “exotic” flavors of our cuisine would be like – palm oil, cilantro, and coconut milk. She seized the first professional opportunity to work in Rio in 2011, and she has stayed here ever since. Today, she prepares the dough and fillings for the typical street pastries from her hometown, Puglia, in Italy, at home and finishes them on the street. “Panza means ‘belly’ in Italian,” she explains, referring to the word that gave rise to the name of the dough. The pastries, filled with mozzarella, parmesan, oregano, salami, tomato, and mushrooms, are indeed plump. Due to the artisanal process, she says she would only do this work in Rio: “It takes time, so I can’t have stressed and hurried customers. Besides, it’s a way to meet people,” she says.