I finally made it to Pollenzo the other day,to the famous Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche, a.k.a. l’Università del Gusto (Taste University)! What better pilgrimage to prepare for today, May 1st and the opening of the Expo in Milan dedicated to the theme of Feeding the Planet (more about that in a future post!)
I toured the impressive grounds of the campus, easily recognizable for its neo-Gothic red brick architecture.
Very impressive indeed! The students were enjoying spring weather, even if they seemed rather intent on studying…
In a stroke of luck, my path crossed with the legendary founder of Slow Food, Carlo Petrini, known as Carlin.
Believe it or not (and I know you won’t believe it, because I can barely believe it myself!), I did not get a picture with him. In a rare moment of extreme humbleness, I was too in awe to ask for a photo together, so here you have stock footage. Yes, I kicked myself all the way home back to Liguria… What a genius, though, coming up with the answer to Fast Food and all that it implies… And this place was his idea too!
Where do I sign up? you say. Well there are quite a number of international students here, and many courses are in English. There are Masters degrees, a cooking school… And have you checked out where we are on the map? It’s Barolo country…
With spring budding, the winding roads of the Langhe countryside and the Tanaro River valley were various shades of green…
And isn’t Green what it’s all about?
Suzanne Branciforte's Italian Grapevine 