Silvio Brarda di Luca Gandione

The Brarda butcher’s shop, run by Luca Gandione and Enrica Brarda in the centre of Cavour, sells prime-quality meat. Now one of the best known in Piedmont, in summer it stocks veal from calves of at least 22 months of age, a little older than is customary but improved by longer hanging. The animals are not reared directly but are brought in from livestock farms in the environs and the Rivoli area. Ox meat, on sale solely in winter, is supplied by breeders in the Langhe and Monferrato districts. Also on sale is a variety of offal, nicknamed the “fourth fifth” in Italian: hence, tripe, brains, tongue and oxtail. On display in the window are beef and veal for braising, roulades, meatballs, guinea fowl, chickens and lean mince, delicious consumed raw. Specialities of the house include cold-smoked ox meat, salt beef, bacon, salami, liver pâte and chipolatas on sticks. Also impressive is the display cabinet containing local and French cheeses and gourmet delicacies (the dishes of the week, often prepared on a rotation basis, are listed on a blackboard). The shop is open to the public from Thursday to Saturday, while from Monday to Wednesday it supplies restaurants.

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