With only a few days to go before the closing, it is time to take stock of the Salone Internazionale del Gusto held in Turin from October 23 to 27.
First of all, the location: the Lingotto is one hundred percent the ideal setting. Why? Large but not very large, in the city but not in the center, equipped with parking facilities and, above all, embedded in a shopping center that is positively affected by the large influx of people who flock to the fairs. Last, but not least especially since it is an exhibition entirely dedicated to food, just a stone's throw from Eataly.
The entrance fee was twenty Euros, discounted to sixteen for Slow Food members, and free for children up to eleven years old who crowded the dedicated workshops and the Ark placed in the center of the pavilion dedicated to Terra Madre in classes. But let's go step by step.
If, like me, you had entered from section eight, you would have accessed the workshop classrooms directly, from Mixology, which occupied the first station as you entered, to the many teaching rooms where cooking classes and thematic seminars were constantly being held.
The rest of the Salone was divided into five sections: one, two and three dedicated to Italy, divided by regions, from north to south, in which the central pavilion was also the largest and housed, of course, Piedmont; at the end of these areas was the Enoteca and beyond that was the rest of the world, namely the Terra Madre section, whose exhibitors were mostly volunteers displaying artisanal creations whose proceeds were openly directed to volunteer associations.
So let's take a step back: strolling through the regions of Italy you could really find everything from andarmelas to granitas, lots of cured meats and cheeses, sauces meat fish beer honey jam, all boasted as the healthiest the most genuine the most homemade the most naturally tasty, with an insistent note of organic echoing in the background in every presentation. All nice, all good, all in perfect Italian style.
At the Enoteca I just took a glance, just enough time to give in to my gluttony and indulge in a burrata and anchovy filled sandwich, which was being sold in this section, before continuing on. I would like to specify that I love wine, but despite the impossibility of excluding it by being part of our heritage, its natural habitat is more Vinitaly, so I appreciated the effort, but I moved on.
Before entering Terra Madre, I wandered for a long time in the Street Food section, where one could really find any regional specialty: from Ascoli olives to gnocco fritto, from focaccia di Recco to farinata, from piadina romagnola to 'frushi' (fruit laid on rice), from fried seafood to sausages wrapped in capocollo to arancini. Fair prices, although the quality often left something to be desired.
The itinerary then ended at Terra Madre, a symbol of ethnicity, variety, simplicity and, to my perception, authenticity. It was admirable to know that most of the booths were volunteers and what they offered was truly 'handmade,' not to mention that they gave a chance to cast an eye on realities, especially cultural and food realities, often distant from our own. This was certainly the pavilion I admired the most.
Other highlights? The volunteers near the bins who helped visitors to put waste correctly into the different bins, not only to avoid the classic fair overflow, but also to educate people to differentiate properly, which is perhaps the first step to a proper food consciousness.
In essence, one could say that the Turin Fair is very reminiscent of the Milan Craft Fair but limiting the theme to that of food and clearly on a smaller scale. So we await the second event in Rho for confirmation.
