Salone del Gusto
A Slow Food fantasy in Turin
By Lara Statham
The Salone del Gusto in Turin, Italy has grown exponentially from its humble beginnings in 1996 to become one of the world’s biggest international food fairs. Organised by Slow Food, which has its roots in the Italian region of Piedmont, it is hosted biennially inside Lingotto Fiere, the site of the ex-Fiat car factory. Since 2012, it joined forces with Terra Madre, an international network of small-scale food producer communities, to highlight the messages of growing, cooking and eating food in responsible and sustainable ways.
Compliments of Salone del Gusto FB
The food fair attracts celebrity chefs, farmers, artisans, wine producers, food experts and the merely curious who arrive in their thousands for the tastings, events, demonstrations, conferences and themed workshops. All are open to the general public. The food extravaganza brings together over 1,000 producers from 130 countries. For a standard 1-day pass at €20 or a 5-day pass for €60, visitors enter a finger-licking world of pure gastronomic fantasy.
The main draw for the public is the ‘International Marketplace’. Food devotees and aficionados stroll through enormous pavilions – 3 dedicated to the producers of Italian regional specialities alone. Suffused with the heady aromas of freshly baked breads, cured meats, pungent cheeses, delicate spices and world flavours here is where visitors can hear the producers’ personal stories, taste their products and stock up on plenty of gastro-goodies to take home. Personal shoppers are also on hand for an extra €10.
Compliments of Salone del Gusto FB
Overindulgence threatens in the Italian Street Food section. There specialities include chickpea fritters from Palermo, deep fried breaded olives from Marche and oxtail stew from Rome.
Alternatively, if an Eat-in is your style, visitors can sign up for free at the UNISG stand at Oval for one of the 4 themed dinners that include Breads of the World and Dining in the Dark. And In a toast to the UN International Year of Family Farming,
Compliments of Salone del Gusto FB
Slow Wine will be presenting its 2015 Guide in one of its biggest ever tastings of 1,000 wines from 500 Italian producers. Visitors can join in at a cost of €39.
Dates: 23-27 October, 2014
Times: Thursday to Sunday: 11am – 11pm, Monday: 11am – 8pm
Address: Lingotto Fiere, via Nizza, 280 Turin, Italy
