Last Monday I went to GourmArte 2016... somewhat against the tide since they were all at the Fivi Market. My choice was first of all practical: GourmArte is in Bergamo, which is a stone's throw from home... and being in a delivery period I have very little time! Since the Fivi Market is in Piacenza, everything was more demanding, so I decided to put it off until next year... and then the web is full of wine blogger who spared us no detail! So happy to be against the grain 😀

The format of GourmArte I like it: on the one hand the stands, on the other hand the Interpreters of Taste restaurant, where 24 of Italy's best chefs took turns every day in the open kitchens directing their brigades and proposing great dishes. The only mistake in my opinion is the national connotation of GourmArteIn my opinion, if you set yourself up as a selector of Italian excellence, you must have at least one wine and one gastronomic excellence per region. This is why I would give a more local connotation to GourmArteperhaps making it the emblem of all the excellence of Lombardy! The basin is however large, there are many extraordinary products... and its specificity can only be a strong point to differentiate itself and penetrate a very varied market that offers many formats similar to this one with a national imprint.

GourmArte - wines: something interesting was...

The wine part did not really excite me, except for the stand of the Seven Lands which in the end contained the best wines of the day! I will not dwell on the Sette Terre because I have already done so HEREand I advise you to read: Sette Terre Wine Fest 2016 and discover the wine tastings that in my opinion were really the highlights of the day! I speak of the Tellurit Rieslingof the Foppello 18 by Cascina Lorenzoand the Nine moon rocks.

In addition to the Sette Terre, I tasted interesting wines that deserve a mention for having impressed me (I will look into this in more detail in the near future, with a second tasting, as I refrain from giving particular evaluations under unsuitable tasting conditions):

• Barolo DOCG Riserva Vigna del Colonnello 1999 - BUSSIA SOPRANA FARM
• Franciacorta DOCG Extra Brut 2009 - FARGHETTINE
• Lambrusco Quistello IGP 80 vintages - COOPERATIVE SOCIAL CELLAR OF QUISTELLO
• Emile Leclere Brut Reserve Champagne - Champagne 4 U
• Otten - St Michael
• Valtellina Superiore DOCG Sassella Riserva - TRIACCA
• Vito Arturo IGT - Le Fonti Farm

With the oysters I paired a Villa Franciacorta Cuvette Brut, an interesting wine, especially on the nose, with notes of peach, hazelnut, vanilla and brioche. In the mouth, I found it slightly 'sweet', I don't know whether due to the residual sugar or the salinity of the oysters. In any case, the combination was really successful because of this play of contrasts!

GourmArte - the products: great discoveries and great confirmations!

Calvisius Caviar

Calvisius Caviar takes its name from its place of origin: Calvisano, a town on the Brescia plain rich in fountains and spring water that owes its Latin name to a Roman nobleman who went down in history as a great gourmet: Calvisius. The purest waters are the basis of the excellent ecosystem that guarantees the authenticity and freshness of calvisius caviar, now famous in the gourmet kitchens of the world's best restaurants! This caviar is processed according to the traditional Russian 'Malossol' (meaning low-salt) method, which allows the differences between the different species or types of caviar to be brought out, thus allowing nature itself to express its organoleptic and morphological biodiversity.

Present at the tasting was the Calvisius Da Vinci caviarwhich I found splendid! I had already tasted the Calvisius caviar during the lecture with tasting on the classic method held by Dr. Angelo Divittini at the Riccafana winery in Franciacorta. I must say that I liked this Da Vinci from the Ars Italica line even more! This caviar is obtained from the Adriatic sturgeon, the only species that can still be found in some Italian rivers. It takes 10 long years to get the best caviar from this species. To the eye, the eggs are a good size and dark in colour. I particularly liked the soft but crunchy texture, the velvety texture, the complex scent and the buttery and nutty notes.

For more information visit Calvisius Caviar!

Looking forward to the Caviar & Champagne evening at the Templari Restaurant of Brescia next Tuesday, 7 December! The prized Calvisius Caviar will be matched, thanks to the mastery of the Chef Alessandro Ferrera, at Lanson Champagne. I was recently in this seafood restaurant and had a really good time, if you like read my experience HERE. By the way, places for the evening are almost sold out... but if you would like to attend, I suggest you contact them via their Facebook page where you can also see lots of beautiful photos of the staff, the location and the dishes prepared!

I Love Oyster

In a perfect world, I would live on five foods: ox, goose, caviar, salmon and of course oysters! OK, we'll throw in two vegetables (there's no hope for me to become a vegetarian...): let's make yellow peppers and porcini mushrooms! And I recommend cheeses, especially blue cheeses! 😀 The best oysters of my life I bought at the market in Arles, France, during a nice holiday last summer. For 4.40 € I got the 12 best shells of the biggest possible calibre freshly caught (if you feel like reading the article about my trip to Provence you can find it HERE)!

So, with me an oyster worshipper, they are already off to a very good start with the name I Love Oyster 😀 I had the format explained to me a little and found it really appealing: I Love Oyster is a tasting of different types of oysters, some of the finest, seafood crudités and top-quality fish, accompanied by the best champagnes and fine wines (only on the choice of wines would I have something to complain about after seeing their website...). In practice, you can organise private or corporate events where the oyster master takes you on a journey of discovery of a wonderful culture (and guarantees the freshness of the oysters opened on the spot!). Guests are then guided by the oyster master who explains to them the different organoleptic characteristics that characterise these prized molluscs.

Davide Rossetti of I Love Oyster took me on a little tasting trip with three types of oyster: Spéciale de Claires Marennes-Oléron, Fine de Claire Verte, Krystale. 

La Spéciale de Claires Marennes-Oléron takes its name from the claires, small concave basins dug into the clay in which the oyster refines and completes its growth, between fresh and salt water. Pleasant, with a good flesh texture, a fairly strong muscle and a balanced flavour.

La Fine de Claire Verte has a characteristic green colour given by the navicule bleue seaweed present in the claires, a characteristic exclusive to this production area which, in addition to its colour, gives it a particular and unique, slightly spicy taste.

And finally the one I liked best, the oyster Krystale from Lower Normandy. I loved it for its great meatiness, the texture of the nacre and the strong, almost crunchy muscle. The overall flavour I found less salty than the others, with a spicy aftertaste.

For more information visit the I Love Oyster website!

Consorzio Salvaguardia Bitto Storico Rebel

How wonderful to taste the evolution of Bitto from 2016 to 2004! When I saw the photos of the maturing Casèra on the stand, I remembered having already seen them at the AIS course! In the Orobie Valtellinesi Park lies an area of alpine pastures that, due to its exposure, humidity and temperature, has been the basis of a livestock breeding and specialised cheese production economy since the Middle Ages. Storico Ribelle, a Slow Food Presidium since 2003, is only produced in summer in the alpine pastures: cows and goats are led to pasture in June and remain there until September, feeding only on the flowers in the pastures. And that the milk is good can be tasted: already at the 2016 tasting, where the Bitto Storico is still fresh and the cheese's fatness can be appreciated above all, the flavour is excellent. Of all the vintages, the ones that impressed me the most were the 2005 and 2008: both have an intense chestnut aroma and extraordinary roasted notes.

One last clarification: the Storico Ribelle is actually Bitto Storico, which was forced to change its name this year because of Bitto DOP, which of the original Bitto has only the name stolen from it! No goats, only cows that graze for a few days and eat fodder, no processing within 30 minutes of milking but tanks of milk that travel here and there, no natural cellar but cold rooms for maturing... a nice marketing operation in short! For those who want to know more, I invite you to the site of i Rebels of Bitto by Michele Corti.

For more information visit the Rebel Historian website!

'Nduja of the Black Pig of Calabria

I adore 'nduja, so much so that I recently dedicated it even this recipe here on my blog! I had already had the opportunity to taste the Suino Nero di Calabria (Black Pig of Calabria), and I must say that it has once again proved to be a confirmation! The black pig of Calabria is a hardy breed reared in these sun-kissed lands, with a slow growth in the open air at all times of the year that favours the development of a meat with great organoleptic and nutritional qualities. In practice, pigs live in the wild and feed on what they find in nature such as acorns, chestnuts and tubers, and only in periods when food is difficult to find is their diet supplemented by man with chickpeas, barley and broad beans. This type of diet, combined with the open-air lifestyle, generates an exquisite and very nutritious meat, rich in noble fats of the omega 3 and omega 6 series.

The 'nduja is the soft, spreadable cured sausage typical of Calabria and, for people like me who love pork and chilli, it is of rare goodness. I prefer it as a condiment for pasta, but even warmed up in these little stoves that resemble home burners and spread on bread it deserves! I found this one in particular with a well blended chilli pepper, which is perhaps slightly spicier than others but 'less annoying' if you will pardon the term! (For me, chilli is never annoying, in fact I put kilos of it everywhere... 😀 )

For more information visit the Suino Nero di Calabria website!

Morlacchi's Torrone all'Antica

It may be that I love pistachio, vanilla and almonds, but this nougat is really delicious. The texture is perfect: tender but not creamy. On the nose, vanilla and honey predominate, while on the palate, almond and pistachio are the undisputed protagonists of this recipe. The taste is immediate and you can feel the quality of the raw materials and slow processing. I have seen that Pasticceria Morlacchi is in Zanica, a few kilometres from Bergamo... so I hope to be able to go there at Christmas... also because from 1 January 2017 I am absolutely back on a diet!

For more information visit the Pasticceria Morlacchi website!

Piedmontese ox tartare from the Macelleria Motta restaurant

Mamma che buono... a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt... and the miracle is accomplished! I am a lover of Piedmontese beef, so imagine my delight when I read on their website:

A few metres from the showcase cell, a large fireplace houses the skewer which, turning slowly for hours, brings large cuts of Piedmontese beef and ox. The available spaces, skilfully furnished by architect and designer Roberto Biffi and embellished with works by sculptor Giuseppe Lorenzi, include two halls, a private room and a charming dehor under the ancient arcade.

The highlight is, of course, the meatproposed mainly raw or with minimal cooking to respect and emphasise the flavours of the cuts Piedmontese. The now famous trio of tartarepresented in 'pyramid' form, the fillet, the steaks of pulp and the large chunks grilledspectacular thanks to slow cooking at the right distance from the embers. Sergio's enthusiasm, which runs through every corner of the venue explaining, showing and cutting monumental steaksbringing small samples of different cuts, telling the secrets and virtues of the Piedmontese meat quality, you will be involved.

The first time I go to Milan on the way back I stop in Gessate (MI) to taste EVERYTHING!

For more information visit the Ristorante Macelleria Motta website!

The Restaurant of the Interpreters of Taste

Chef Stefano Cerveni - Due Colombe, Corte Franca (BS) *Michelin

Baked tench 2.16

Chef Stefano Cerveni presented his Tinca al forno 2016, and since I had already tasted it at the presentation of the wonderful Berlucchi '61 Brut Nature 2009 I didn't take it... because I wanted to try something different. But I assure you it is wonderful, a conceptual dish of the highest order. Tench is a fish from our Lake Iseo that is very popular in these areas, to sin a bit of fatness and heaviness. This reworking I found ingenious and perfect. The tench filling becomes the crispy outer 'crust'. The fish becomes the creamy filling. Maybe I am wrong, but I thought I smelt a citrus note. The Maldon salt completes the dish and counteracts the tench's sweet tendency. The idea of serving it in elegant cubes is beautiful. If you would like to read the full article on Berlucchi '61 Brut Nature 2009 and discover all the delicious fingerfoods presented by Chef Stefano Cerveni click HERE.

Chef Fabio Abbattista - Leone Felice L'Albereta, Erbusco (BS)

Fillet of fassona with charcoal, red beets and spices

 Spectacular! I normally don't particularly like beetroot, but these were so good that they impressed me even more than the meat! The spice mix was well balanced, not at all aggressive, with predominant notes of vanilla and cardamom. The fassona was cooked at a low temperature in a charcoal oil that gave it a very special smoky flavour. The meat was very tender, perhaps a little overcooked for me who eats it almost raw, but perfect for satisfying the palate of a large number of people in a situation where no particular degree of cooking is required.

Chef Marco Parillo - Il Casale del Mare, Castiglioncello (Li)

Mullet crudo Leghorn style (tartare, tomato water, buffalo ball, toasted crumbs, parsley air

I always find molecular cooking very interesting because, after all, cooking is chemistry. I was the first in another life to experiment with spherification to create molecular cocktails with Ferran Adrià's kits. Mullet is a fish I really like, and in this dish I found great balance and an interesting play on textures. The thing I liked most was the buffalo sphere, the thing I liked least were the toasted crumbs because they moistened on contact with the mullet and changed the texture of the fish. Overall, it was a really good dish.

Chef Fabio Silvia - Derby Grill, Monza (MB)

Baba, Bahibe chocolate cream and mandarin sorbet

The texture, smell and taste of this chocolate mousse I think I will not easily forget. The texture and wetness of the baba was perfect. I think the Derby Grill is worth a visit even just for a dessert because it is rare to eat such good ones, made with simple ingredients and processed with care and refinement.

In short, this GourmArte 2016 I really enjoyed it. I didn't manage to taste everything, but I found excellence and confirmation... and something that impressed me less, but was still fairly worthy.

See you next time 😉

Chiara

PS A special compliment to my colleagues at AIS Lombardia for their excellent service, professionalism and courtesy. As always it is an honour for me to be part of the AIS family and every time I see you you make me proud. Thank you <3

PPS On the cover photo the delicious saffron chocolates from Pasticceria Sofia! At 3.20 p.m. I was there waiting for the presentation of the Veronelli Guide, and the pastry chef did a nice cooking show to show us how they are created. I waited for the Veronelli Guide until 16:10 and then I went home... I was sorry not to attend, but 40 minutes late is a long time for someone whose life is as interlocking as mine... it will be for next time 😉

All my notes on wine and food in one book.