Slow Food, the association dedicated to protecting local cuisines and traditional products, and the University of Gourmet Science, an international training and research centre and the only one of its kind worldwide, are both based in Piemonte. Several major companies have also turned local Piedmontese traditions into globally successful brands: a few obvious examples come to mind, Lavazza, Ferrero, Martini e Rossi, Cinzano and Gancia what’s more, the latter invented spumante or sparkling wine.Here, a passion for food is regarded as a virtue, not a vice. Even when the food in question is an icon of temptation: chocolate.
The close link between Piemonte and chocolate dates back to 1587 when Duke Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia introduced court society to the refined custom of drinking hot chocolate. Since then, and even more from the early 18th century, Turin and Piemonte have become one of the largest European centres of chocolate production. This historic voyage regarding chocolate also includes that combination of cocoa and hazelnuts that gave rise to the inimitable gianduiotto, which was traditionally hand-made, and another famous product, Nutella.