Producers and the local area

THE TURIN LOCAL AREA

The notable growth of the Masters of Taste since 2002 reflects a local area which, thanks to the dedication and commitment of its food producers, is showing increasing belief in its aptitude for food and wine production and the cultural value of its traditions. The more one discovers the project, the more one has the distinct sensation that the Turin area has two souls that offer many topics for conversation and debate.

THE CITY OF TURIN

The first, the area’s urban soul, is to be found in the city’s many food stores, artisan shops and market stalls. This is a soul that pursues a number of aims all at once: promotion of the “Piedmontese spirit” with the most classical dishes and recipes; integration of outside elements to support the idea of a reality in perpetual motion, proud of its own identity, yet, at the same time, always prepared to enrich and supplement it; the desire to create, invent and experiment that probably owes a lot to the many young people who are undertaking new activities with fresh new ideas; the increasingly attentive selection of ingredients, sourced where possible within the radius of a few kilometres as proof of a fruitful relationship with the surrounding countryside.

THE PROVINCE OF TURIN

The second is the soul of the rural areas around the city, of the hills and the valleys, in direct contact with the land.

It’s a soul that grows richer year by year thanks to the many farms and estates that work with respect for the environment, preserving the landscape, biodiversity and soil fertility, increasingly connecting food and energy production, paying attention to animal welfare, and showing the courage to rescue “ancient” crafts and production techniques.

Sampling the products described means finding out more about the people who make them and the stories behind them. These people may be very different one from another but they share the same passion and desire to present their local area in the best way possible. Because only a passionate, sensitive and farsighted vision can induce farmers, livestock breeders and food artisans to address alternative life choices and treat properly a local area that, in turn, pays back what they put into it.