Page 20 - June 2019 Kwasind

CHEF’S CORNER: TRUE ITALIAN TASTE IN EMILIA- ROMAGNA
Chef Michael Russell
I was very fortunate to be offered a trip abroad in early April 2019 to the Italian region of Emilia–Romagna, courtesy of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Ontario. The goal for this trip was to take Canadian chefs and introduce them to the regional products and producers that make Emilia-Romagna so unique. In turn, having the information and the appreciation to educate our guests back home and becoming unofficial ambassadors of the Italian products we encountered. I learned that, In Canada, our rules for labeling foreign foods are lax and it’s difficult to regulate all the items coming through our borders. Unfortunately, some companies recognize this and can misrepresent products to the uneducated consumer, who often purchase over priced imitation products.
Our host for the trip was Chef Roberto Fracchioni who worked in the Toronto restaurant scene for decades before moving over to the education sector. Not limited to hosting duties, he served as translator, handler and chauffeur for the trip. His wealth of knowledge about Italian culture, people and cuisine served us well during the trip, not to mention his familiarity with this specific region where his family happens to come from. His comprehensive expertise on Italian craft and culture lead him to be named the ambassador in Canada for the prized Prosciutto di Parma ham and Parmigiano Reggiano, the king of cheeses. We were accompanied by Chef Andrew Thorne of Good Earth Food and Wine Co., in Niagara ON and Chef Fraser Macfarlane of Quarterfoil Restaurant and Brux House, in Dundas ON. As I wrote this, I was traveling south on Highway A1 from Val Tidone en route to Parma. This highway dissects the
heart of Emilia–Romagna and it is the avenue down which most of the regions high quality products travel to local business and abroad. To the east, the snow- capped Apennines mountains rise above the horizon and its hard not to be in awe of the pristine beauty of this region. On this morning, we were up at the crack of dawn to meet a local prosciutto producer in Parma. Red eyed and empty stomached, ready for our daily intake of all things Emilia–Romagna. Although not my firsttimeinItaly,itwasmyfirsttimetohaveventuredout of the major cities and into the rustic rural communities. Starting in Bologna, we zigzagged our way through the Emilia–Romagna region, culminating a week later in Verona at the worlds largest annual wine event in Italy, called Vinitaly. One of our first stops was the small town Forlimpopoli at the food culture hub, a museum and school Casa Atrusi where we would spend two days integrating ourselves into local food culture. Named after the Italian gourmand Pelligrino Artusi who’s meticulous record keeping helped catalog and print
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JUNE 2019 • KWASIND
DINING