Exporting Pasta To Italy?

Jeno Paulucci, blunt-talking entrepreneur, tireless promoter and creator of frozen foods, has hit a major milestone in a long, busy career.

The 76-year-old patriarch of fast-food, heat-and-serve pizza has started sending frozen Italian pasta to Italy, the land of his forefathers.

“My mother would be proud. The recipes she brought from the old country will now be in the kitchens of Italian homes,” Paulucci said Monday from his office in Sanford, not far from Orlando.

Paulucci, who developed Chun King Chinese food and Jeno’s frozen pizza, created Luigino’s Inc. five years ago, after a period spent developing real estate in the 1980s.

“I’m excited about this, although the competition will be tough,” Paulucci said.

The company has established a strong presence in England, Scotland and Ireland, and is dominant in western Canada. Luigino’s also exports to Western Europe, Mexico and South America.

His supermarket competition in Italy includes a frozen line called Gastronomia and products sold by Unilever Corp. and Nestle Brands.