Annabella and Jessica Gregorio, founders of Take the Cannoli, were "absolutely blown away" when their business was chosen to feature at Royal Ascot. The sisters swapped North East markets for the prestigious event this week, supplying 500 handmade cannoli as part of the King's Trust's 50th anniversary celebrations.
This milestone marked the first time the business had supplied shops, with their products appearing in cafes across the famous racecourse. The sisters were delighted to spot their cannoli on sale in a cafe within the Royal Enclosure after being invited to attend Royal Ascot on Day One.
Annabella said: "It was incredible. It was such a great opportunity, but it was a little bit surreal at the same time. We'd never supplied any shop with cannoli, this was our first time doing it. We got to go and visit them in the shop and that was just like so surreal. We were filled with joy when we saw them because it was like we've finally done it."
Annabella, 26, and Jessica, 28, run Take the Cannoli from their parents' kitchen in Rowlands Gill while juggling full-time jobs. They started the business in 2024 after completing an enterprise small business course with the King's Trust.
Annabella added: "We're half Italian and we'd grown up with freshly-filled cannoli. When we went on holiday we'd eat freshly-filled cannoli, but in the UK, especially in Newcastle, we found you could only really get the pre-filled, long-life cannoli so we thought why don't we start that in the North East? As part of [setting the business up] we went over to Sicily to train and learn how to do them properly. Once we knew it was possible it all started from there."
Since then, Annabella and Jessica have been trading at markets around the North East and have also supplied a number of weddings. Last year, the King's Trust had a stall at Royal Ascot where they invited young people who had businesses with the King's Trust. Take the Cannoli was then chosen to supply the cafes at this year's event, while Jessica has also designed a coin for the King to celebrate the King's Trust 50th anniversary. The sisters brought two of their flavours to the event – Keep It Classic and Strictly Pistachio.
Annabella said: "Being at Royal Ascot was like being in a different world in terms of the outfits and having conversations with people you wouldn't normally have conversations with. Seeing the King was incredible too. It was all amazing."
