Tasting Italy: From Alpine Mountains to the midst of Mediterranean
This year I had the chance to travel across the countries around the Mediterranean, attending conferences, symposiums and events, from Crete to Sicily, from various corners of Spain to Italy and France, but two travels made me think more about the unique charm of Italy, how its far corners are different yet similar in terms of their concerns about tourism, and how they can put their unique gastronomic values to promote their regions. Thanks to organizer couple Manuela Fissore Barker and Thomas Barker, the foremost communication agency, collaborating with Paolo Vizzari, renowned food writer who describes himself as a gastronomic narrator, I had the chance to attend “Ein Prosit” event in Udine at the northeastern tip of Italy and then visited Siracusa, down in Sicily, discussing Mediterranean cuisine and gastronomy tourism.
Ein Prosit: Let the tables be set and the glasses clink
What do you do to boost a region that is moribund in terms of tourism? It's simple: Set a table and invite everyone. That's exactly what the association of towns in Friuli-Venezia Giulia has done. This is a region which has its own charm with lots of towns to discover, but doomed to be forever overshadowed by Venice in terms of tourism. Located in the northeastern corner of Italy, the region borders Slovenia and Austria, and lies just a stone's throw behind Venice in Veneto, undoubtedly Italy's most visited city. Trieste, the central port city of the partially autonomous region, is a wealthy city that once had a close trade relationship with the Ottomans. The city with its grid-iron streets with huge paving stones can be likened as Torino-by-the-sea. Udine, a little further inland, is a settlement where you can also hear occasional German language. Gorizia, in between, is so Slovenian that you feel like you are in Slovenia. This is a very diverse region yet to be explored, especially with its exquisite tastes. If Venice is famous for its seafood from the lagoon, almost everything else comes from the surrounding region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The region is strong in livestock-raising, hence the excellent dairy products and cheeses, and the viticulture, producing exquisite whites and the so-called “nero” wines, how the locals call red wine. During the day glasses of sparkling wines flow endlessly, satisfying plates of “Frico” disappear as they arrive on the table, a delicious dish made from grated potatoes and local cheese sometimes with onions and Speck, all key ingredients for a comfort food, and finally everything you eat is washed down with grappa, the strong grape distillation, inseparable from espresso here. The cuisine is influenced by the Austrian Alps and has some similarities with Slovenian cuisine, but still very Italian in many ways. In short, we are talking about a rich and diverse cuisine.
As gastronomy has recently become an important factor in tourism, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region thought to take advantage of this. It is not easy to attract attention in the world of gastronomy. You have to make a difference. Here they have ingeniously created a very different and clever model about 24 years ago. They invite many well-known chefs from all over the world. Most of the chefs are already friends with each other, buddies, so to speak. They happily come together like a reunion every year. They go in twos and threes to local restaurants, take over the kitchen for one night and cook together. Everyone prepares a dish, so the menu is created together, the famous wines of the region accompany the dinner. The locals and out-of-towners alike choose the chefs they want, make reservations, and taste the food of famous chefs at a reasonable price. This year, the meeting hub of chefs was Al Capello, where local charcuterie platters, wines and dishes were served and glasses were raised to clink cheering “Ein Prosit,” a German term for Cheers that is often used in the region. The first Ein Prosit was first organized in the town of Tarviso years ago, then it grew and moved to Udine. Tarviso continues to host a smaller summer event, with mostly chefs from Italy participating. There have been criticisms that the Ein Prosit event is more about getting star-chefs to have sort of a big reunion party, and not bringing the local values up in the front, but in my case, it was the contrary, it only whetted my appetite to see more of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, to return some other time to explore more and taste more of its exciting food and in particular have another plate of that killing “frico,” my soft spot.
Sicilia: La Saporissima
From north to south, every corner of Italy has a unifying charm, and that unifying appeal is its gastronomy, which makes the country into a whole. Italian cuisine is nominated on the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List, with the dossier titled “Italian cooking between sustainability and biocultural diversity” which showcases the vast diversity of Italy and regional cuisines. Sicily is another gastronomy destination, now having huge interest because of the second season of “The White Lotus” series set in Taormina, but of course Sicily has much more to offer to the curious travelers, especially gastronomes, not only to bored and confused rich tourists immersed in their own deep existence problems. The island in the midst of the Mediterranean in a way sums up the flavors of cultures around the mighty sea. Having been in the crossroads of traders, situated in a critical spot connecting Europe to Africa, and in a spot that can be described as the navel of the Mediterranean. Arab and Muslim influences meeting with Nordic Normans makes the island a mind-blowing mix of many cultures. With the organization of “Le Soste di Ulisse” we gathered at Grand Hotel Minareto in Siracusa (and yes, it means the Minaret, another evidence of diverse cultural influences in Sicily), to taste and discuss gastronomy tourism in Sicily. Our topic to discuss with chefs and food writers and researchers was titled as “Sapori Mediterranei-Flavors of Mediterranean” and there were other sessions where local authorities discussed tourism in Sicily in particular. Listening to local tourism people, there were moments that I felt in a meeting in Antalya, the foremost tourism destination in Türkiye on the Mediterranean. They were speaking of the very same problems of “allongare” the tourism season, that is to extend the tourism season to fall and winter, along with the unending discussion to make the local cuisine and products better known. The event was titled “Che Siamo Fatti in Sicilia!” that can be translated as “What Sicily is made of!” well I have an answer, Sicily is the Mediterranean condensed in a capsule, a very dense concentrated total sum of the mighty sea, and it has more to offer in winter. Hopefully the forthcoming Santa Lucia day on Dec. 13 will bring the bounty of wheat to the island, and I always dream of coming back for the char-grilled artichokes sold in the market, and of course for more and more “arancini.” fried rice balls stuffed with a variety of fillings. At the end of the day, it is “frico” and “arancini,” two crowd-pleaser popular comfort foods that unite Italy, making it a gastronomy destination like no other.
