My lifelong love affair with gastronomy: L'Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche

---

Admittedly I am writing this blog some time after the actual trip, and so the sun soaked intensity of the entire experience is somewhat muted. Isn’t that always the way with the limitation of words? I still thought it worth documenting what was a vacation, a studious affair, the pursuit of a passion and the exploration of a potential future in food. I spent a week at the L'Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche (the University of Gastronomic Sciences UNISG) in Bra; the home of the Slow Food movement. I chose rather than the university accommodation, a nearby hotel. I was after all an adult student and far beyond the years of scraping by on my university overdraft facility. The entire experience was reminiscent of starting a new programme, of meeting new friends, of learning, creating, adventuring and thinking of the world of infinite possibilities that this new educational discourse might open. The days seemed long; not least because the combination of learning, cooking together and dining together at every meal is tiring for an introvert. Below is a summary of the morning studies. Afternoons were spent in the kitchen and evenings were spent frequenting the local eateries and practicing Italian.



Day1: molecular science, food transformation, food staples, culture, molecules in food and their taste, the language of taste. Dinner at slow food restaurant Boccondivino, Bra.



Day2: physical states of food; heat, consistency, flavour; food molecules, techniques, maillard reactions, caramelisation, denaturation of proteins, emulsification, fermentation. University’s wine bank. Dinner at Local, Bra.



When the professor says “are you the chocolate girl?” Yes ma’am, I am. Here I used 70% chocolate from Domori in Piedmonte to alter the consistency of the emulsion.



Day3: Pollenzo Productive Garden, harvesting and foraging; seasonality and biodiversity. Raw pH and colour (microelements and nutrition). Taste and aromas (infusions and extractions). Water activity: dehydration, salts, sugars, preserves. Dinner at Gusto Madre pizzeria, Alba.



Day4: Critics and cuisine; between nutrition, taste and new issues; what does gourmet mean? Food, revolutions, ideas of food in history, orphism, food pairing. Plating as storytelling, what is the cook responsible for? Dinner at Castello di Verduno.



Day5: Orto del Pian Bosco farm; organic agriculture.



I spent the mornings and evenings swimming (thank goodness I opted for the hotel stay) as well as gazing out of the bedroom window and inhaling the Italian air. The air is distinctly different in Italy; full of food and love (they are somewhat tantamount to the same thing) and music and play and spontaneity and passion and a pace of life that necessitates an appreciation of good things. I love Italy.

---