Where taste is born

Tomorrow kicks off at the Cuoa in Altavilla Vicentina the second edition of the opening conceived and curated by Filiberto Zovico and Antonio Maconi, promoted by the guide “Venezie a Tavola” directed by Luigi Costa, and by ItalyPost and curated by Goodnet. Explains Zovico: “Last year for the first edition, which was experimental in nature, we registered the access of more than ten thousand people interested in learning from the inside about the production processes related to the world of food . This year will double the presence from all over Italy of graduates and doctoral students from universities not only in the Northeast. They will move from one plant to another in a kind of tourist, industrial and food and wine itinerary unique in Italy.” For three days it will be possible to visit the taste factories, where guided tours, show-cooking and tastings will be organized. Among this year’s new features is the involvement of Cuoa, the 61-year-old business school that has helped train entrepreneurs and managers over the decades and is based in the 18th-century Villa Valmarana Morosini in Altavilla Vicentina. “Our focus on the world of food,” Zovico points out, “is not restricted to experiences that touch only the palate, but we have a great deal of attention to the business side: agribusiness is a business, and knowing how to make a good product is only the beginning. The food story begins later with the right storytelling, marketing in international markets and with managerial management.” These themes will be the background of the inaugural conference to be held tomorrow at Villa Valmarana Morosini where three protagonists of the success of Made in Italy in the Northeast will discuss with Daniele Manca (Corriere della Sera ) the role of companies in the food sector . The factories involved in the opening will be open to everyone, from the very young curious to the elderly experts, those who are passionate about these issues and those who want to learn how to recognize quality in the production processes of this sector. Thus, it will be possible to try “getting your hands dirty” by making dough in workshops organized for the occasion or follow the production of a chocolate, check out the making of gubana and understand why this dessert is the soul of the Natisone Valleys in the province of Udine. “We have the ambition,” Zovico concludes, “to make Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia the laboratory of this new food narrative before transporting this experience to other regions that have a strong food and wine history such as Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Marche. We-Food is designed as an all-round weekend that starts from the experiences in the 20 companies involved in the project and expands to the territory. This is not a “vertical” tourism experience, of the “Open Wineries” or “Open Distilleries” type, but a unique opportunity for “widespread” industrial and food and wine tourism. So it will be possible to visit a taste factory and then stop to learn more about cities and realities in the Northeast, moving by car within a radius of no more than 200 kilometers. It will be an opportunity to discover interesting entrepreneurial realities, less known to the general public, such as that of Funghi Valbrenta in Cismon del Grappa or the Castellan Urbano dairy in Rosà where the public will be able to satisfy their curiosity about cheeses and their preparations. Or he will be able to visit the VisVita pasta food company in San Martino di Lupari, which has decided not to buy flour from the miller but to choose directly the fields from where to buy the wheat to be milled. An interesting story started with a lady who wanted to propose a pasta dish to her children. The starting point for We-Food events is the “Venezie a Tavola” guidebook, now in its ninth edition and premiered on Oct. 22. The editor is Luigi Costa, a journalist who like few knows and chronicles the evolution of Northeastern cuisine. Last year he had invited Norbert Niederkofler, the South Tyrolean chef who a month later would win his third star in the Michelin Guide, to open the event. For 2018, Leandro Luppi (Vecchia Malcesine in Malcesine, Verona), Andrea Nardin (Antico Veturo in Trebaseleghe, Padua), and Emanuele Scarello (Agli Amici in Udine), three creative chefs who are attentive to the products of their local area, be it Lake Garda, the province of Padua, or the suburbs of Udine, have been invited for the three-day We-Food event. Last year ten thousand people had the chance to get into the heart of the production of taste factories, this weekend there will be a chance to repeat the experience (updated program and places available at www.wefood-festival.it)