A day at the International Culinary Institute for Foreigners
Sacla is a sponsor of the International Culinary Institute for Foreigners, a quaint name that reflects the Italian concept of stranieri, and which in other cultures might be rendered simply as the International Culinary Institute. It is in the beautiful Castello di Costigliole d’Asti. The college trains those who are already chefs in the ways and mores of Italian cooking, the choice and use of ingredients, and the great variety of methods. There are people here from all over the world, and we were given lunch, including a wonderful old-fashioned tartra, a creamy and savoury dish so typical of the region, which is said to have Spanish origins.
We then spent a few hours with the chef Riccardo Marello, who taught us how to make tagliolini alla Ligure, stuffed lasagnette with vegetables and red pepper sauce, and gnocchetti ripieni con pesto – all using Sacla’s basil pesto.
We were fortunate enough to be staying at one of the most desirable places in the area – Ca Vittoria in the village of Tigliole near the town of Asti. It has a Michelin-starred restaurant where the chefs, unusually though not for Piemonte, are two women. More unusually still, and this even for Piemonte, they are a mother and daughter team – Gemma Gallo and her daughter Alessandra Strocco, whose husband is the maître d’. We ate wonderfully there – veal of the Fassone cattle breed, cured in salt in a marble box, served with the goats’ milk cheeses which are so plentiful and varied in the region: Castelmagno made near Alba, and tuma, all eaten with mostarda, which is not mustard but a chutney-like preserve. The wines are a delight. Here are the recipes and methods from our visit.