Among the things that make the Grand Tours so grand (besides simply the astonishing athletic ability required to complete one) is the intense three week focus on tourism that rewards the specatators enjoying the races in Italy, France and Spain. It is known that the French government subsidizes “le Grand Boucle” in numerous ways, including supplying all those ultra-cool motorcycle gendarmes and one expects that the organizers of the other races also receive support as routes chosen always try to include the most scenic parts of each country.
Fried pecorino
The Giro d’Italia, currently running in its 107th edition, has been blessed with excellent weather, showcasing magnificent scenery, from mountain landscapes in the Appenine range that runs down the centre of the country, to gorgeous villages in Tuscany and historic sites that go way back—all the way to Roman times in the case of Pompeii but even that is not the oldest inhabited place. With involvement from ENIT, the Italian National Tourism Office, the Giro highlights just how distinctive are the many regions of the country. And in 2024 it even offers us a taste of each with cooking demonstrations on YouTube through its “Giro d’EATalia” videos.
Viewers of the Giro will have seen the signs for “EATaly” on the road, and the name appears as well on the sides of the White Jersey for the Best Young Rider competition. EATaly is a sponsor of the race but for those unfamiliar with it, the company was launched in 2007 in Turin as a store to market Italian artisanal foodstuffs. The founder worked with 20 different regions, along with the Slow Food movement, and envisaged the location as a place where people could eat, shop and learn about food. Since then the company, owned since 2022 by a UK investment firm, has expanded to 40 locations around the world, continuing to spotlight Italian specialties but also local products as well. (While EATaly is a protected business name, there seem to be hundreds of unrelated “Eatalia” restaurants!)
The “Giro d’EATalia” videos are released to coincide with each stage of the race and feature a young chef, Gianluca Rossetti, (who is otherwise engaged as EATaly’s Human Resources Training Manager in Milan) presenting a regional dish. Each video, which is in Italian but subtitled in English, is less than three minutes long, which does not sound like sufficient time to prepare much of anything but Italian cooking emphasizes the quality of ingredients. While these recipes may look simple, having the advantage that anyone can prepare them, they also look beautiful and represent those special products that distinguish their regions.
Beginning with Piedmont and the first stage of the race, Chef Rossetti prepared bonet, a chocolate and amaretto pudding characteristic of Turin. Next up is polenta from the Alpine region, then another Piedmontese dish, risotto con Gorgonzola followed by an artichoke dish typical of Liguria, and from Genoa—pesto of course! As the race proceeds, each stage brings us new gastronomic delights, some familiar (spaghetti and tomato sauce from Naples) but others less so, like pallotte cacio e ova (cheese and egg balls) from Abruzzo.
Each of the videos (there will be 21 in all) begins with the chef indicating where the dish originates, which ingredients are needed and how to prepare and present the finished course. There is a list of ingredients, first in Italian and then in English, at the end of each video. Each presentation is admirably concise and will certainly make many of us want to head off to the nearest Italian grocery store (although most of the ingredients should be easily enough found) and then start cooking after the race for the day is over!
In the past, the Giro d’Italia has been seen as something less than the Tour de France, in spite of often providing spellbinding and unexpected competition. In terms of scenery and athletic effort and tifosi antics and the best trophy there is to win, for many of us it is still The Race the Cool Kids Like. The “Giro d’EATalia” helps to capture that special style of the event and the very flavour of Italy itself. Let the ASO, organizer of the Tour de France, try to match that!
- For the complete Playlist of the Giro d’EATalia, go here: www.youtube.com.
- For more about EATALY, check out the company’s website here: www.eataly.com.
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