Tag: sustainability

Ferdy: vision and wild sustainability! – Italian Cuisine

Mountains, animals, nature, wholesome food and circular economy. Here's where

Ferdy it is not just an agritourism, it is a way of life and it is a contemporary company: attention to the environment, enhancement of the territory and resources, excellence of the raw material, digitization and dynamism.

Recycling and circular economy

The rules of Ferdy, aka Ferdinando, father of Nicolò, who today manages the company together with family, have always been ironclad: no waste, recycling and reuse, enhancement of the territory, respect for the environment and animals. Indeed, Ferdy is a visionary integralist when it comes to the environment and today he lives in a hut on the mountain pastures, with his animals, his land and his herbs. He goes back to the valley only to get everything he needs for the job and to make sure everything is fine.

If Ferdy is the mind, Cinzia, his wife, is the engine of all the activity, a tireless and powerful woman. Together, they are a perfect mix that, for 30 years, has been innovating and giving life to a project of circular economy where breeding and production serve to feed the farm in a virtuous circle in which everything is connected.

To their sons Nicolò and Alice, both in the company together with their respective companions, they taught respect for nature and resources, hard work and constant commitment to innovate, to look ahead with a vision that is always at the forefront of the business.

And today Ferdy is an innovative company, perfectly inserted in the context where mountain pasture trips at 1400 m, weekly stays for children, educational farm schools, horse riding, mountain bike cycling and guided trekking excursions on horseback are just some of the activities that can be practiced.

An enchanted place, surrounded by nature on the banks of the Brembo river, with accommodations made of wood, in harmony with the rough stone which is also reserved for the Borgo del Benessere (a relaxation area, where you can enjoy treatments with the same materials raw materials, in particular hay, essential oils and wool) and a restaurant divided into small spaces. And in the summer you can eat in the garden, in the shade of the huge cedar and lime trees.

The production of milk cheeses from ancient breeds is significant, specifically from Original Brown Alpine cows and Orobic Goats, left to graze freely.

The production takes place with hand milking and milk heated on a wood fire, no food integration and no additional ferment in the cheese making, with great attention to the wholesomeness of raw materials and scrupulous attention to the procedures, so much so that they are requested by some prestigious restaurateurs.

Very resistant animals for life in the mountain pastures, which graze more than seven months a year, enhanced for the production of milk and cheese (but also for a cosmetic line based on goat milk) and then, at the end of their career, for meat production.

Nicolò is young, authentic, daring, light-hearted and also tireless and, just over a year ago, he decided to activate an e-commerce service because he wants to make the company's products known. Slowly things began to turn, and he realized that – by strengthening the service and describing his products personally – he could send them to Italy and abroad, because people would fall in love with that authenticity, with their reality. So that the coronavirus crisis has also turned into an opportunity.

They focus on diversification between high and low season so that the business is constant, with great commitment, focusing on flexibility, creativity and product, working on strong tradition and great innovation.

And so while Alice specializes in hospitality, Nicolò is the meeting point between farm and agritourism, responsible for personnel, new projects and marketing. As an enthusiast he studied a constantly evolving wine list for the farm, which today consists of over 90 labels, of which 30 from small and very small producers from Bergamo, natural wines, famous bubbles and the great Italian myths.

Wild home edition meatballs

The wild meatballs, with nettle, silene and paruk or wild spinach with a heart of formai del Ferdy, are prepared with spontaneous herbs collected in the mountain pastures, a recipe handed down for generations and, today, carried out by Marco Bonato, cook of the farm, that we offer you in a version that can also be replicated at home.

You'll love it, but I recommend you go and taste the original ones, they deserve!

Recipe for 4/6 meatballs

200 g of boiled and well-squeezed herbs / spinach, 70 g of grated parmesan / parmesan, 175 ml of milk, 125 g of bread, half a clove of garlic, salt and pepper.

Method

Soak the bread in the milk, add the finely chopped garlic and the herbs or spinach. Mix everything well with your hands, also adding a little salt and pepper. Take some of the mixture and form a ball in the center of which place a cube of about 1 cm of stringy cheese, such as Fontina or Asiago. Dip the meatball in the breadcrumbs and let it rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile, heat abundant sunflower oil, heat the meatballs in the microwave for about 15 seconds and then fry them for a couple of minutes until golden.

Serve on a serving dish with a salad, possibly with a dandelion base, and vinaigrette.

Ferdy, Fienili locality, 24010 Lenna, Bergamo; phone: 0345 8223.

Juri Chiotti, the Peasant Brigades and sustainability – Italian Cuisine

From a starred cuisine to the return to the mountains for love of the earth and nature. And some ideas for ecological, nutritious, healthy Christmas gifts!

Many think they live in a sustainable way, but in reality only a few succeed. Then there are those who have made sustainability a way of life, and carry it forward every day with commitment and hard work. We can say that Juri Chiotti both one and one of these.

History

Juri Chiotti is a chef known and appreciated, with important experiences in international cuisines, a Michelin star shared for a while with his friend and colleague Diego Rossi (from Trippa Milano), at the Antiche Contrade of Cuneo, when he was Juri he was 25.
But the Michelin star is not everything and Juri dreams of a place of his own, a place that makes him feel at home, that makes his roots emerge.
Thus, in 2016, REIS (mountain free food) opens and, in its Valle Varaita, returns to its hut to renovate, a vegetable garden, animals and an orchard. A dream come true.
The energy used for the hut, the farm, the restaurant comes 100% from renewable sources.

His is a solid cuisine that has its roots in Occitan cuisine and its tradition (reis in the Occitan language means roots), rediscovers an almost forgotten culture.
Getting to Frassino is an adventure and sometimes you get lost admiring the view, the mountains and down, the valley. More than with the navigator, you step up to view, looking forward to lunch, a free-hand path that the chef thinks about and changes every week, to savor the territory, the products and his idea of cuisine, free from artifice, but rich in substance.

We asked Juri Chiotti to tell us something about the production of the Peasant Brigades, where we can find these Burnìe (Piedmontese glass jars)

The Brigate Contadine project was born from the friendship between me, Lorenzo Barra di Cresco and Carmelo Mammana of the Paiei Farm. We all believe in the importance of producing and consuming in a sustainable and natural way. We love our home, which for everyone is the Varaita Valley. I already had, through the agritourism, obtained the authorization to produce jams, pickles and preserves, Lorenzo and Carmelo instead are at the beginning of their activity as farmers.
Thus, even to offer a wider range of products, especially in winter, the idea of using my kitchen as a laboratory was born. Everyone brings the products from their own garden and together we prepare the recipes for the jars.
I sell here, on a farm, and them through home sales, an activity that has already started for the fruit and vegetables they produce.
Peasant Brigades is one more piece of the dense network of collaborations that are springing up in the lower Valla Varaita, where a group of young people believes in relaunching their land, through sharing and networking. We produce little, we produce well and we try to make people more aware of a more responsible consumption, paying attention to how the food we buy every day is produced.
At the moment we have jams, tomato conserve, ready sauces, pickled vegetables, caponata and pickled vegetables in production.

Products of the earth, produced with love and respect, produce from the mountains to the mountains. To support the local economy and young people who invest resources in the Varaita Valley. Christmas gifts that are good for the spirit, not just for the stomach.
For information on the Burnìe of the Peasant Brigades follow their Instagram profile or the FB page of Reis.

Sustainability, here is the best circular dish (and the recipe to prepare it) – Italian Cuisine

Milan City Council, Banco Alimentare and Gruppo Elior closed Milano Food City talking about urban planning in a new way with the creation of a menu inspired by the circular economy and sustainability

Municipality of Milan, Banco Alimentare and the Elior Group committed themselves to food sustainability with a symbolic contest in which they proposed the best dishes inspired by thecircular economy based on the recovery of what is commonly discarded. To compete in a show cooking at Food Academy Elior, two teams formed by chefs Elior and Marco Lucchini and Antonio Oliva, respectively Secretary General and Vice President of the Banco Alimentare Foundation. To decide the fate of the challenge a jury of exception formed by the Councilor for Labor Policies, Productive Activities, Commerce and Human Resources of the municipality of Milan, Cristina Tajani, the starred chef Claudio Sadler and the food and wine journalist and creator and curator of Identità Golose, international congress of kitchen and pastry shop of author, Paolo Marchi. On the occasion of the event, one was given free supply of Amato pasta by Pastificio Di Martino, to support the canteen of the Sant’Antonio da Padova friars on Via Farini in Milan.

"Initiatives such as these, as well as all the appointments offered by the rich calendar of Milan Food City, aim to achieve a double objective: to make the capital the national reference point for the" food "world, as well as to promote, disseminate and encourage a correct food culture. The Administration's task is precisely to create a synergic network between companies, third sector operators and citizens to make them more aware of the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles, thanks also to consumption choices capable of reducing food waste and having the right attention to the most fragile subjects since food is always culture and respect towards man . commented Cristina Tajani, Councilor for Labor Policies, Productive Activities and Commerce of the Municipality of Milan.

"This day – says Marco Lucchini – makes the Food Academy an ideal place where institutions, civil society organizations, citizens and a large company can realize a collaboration that affects and contributes to the transformation of the city, creating a replicable best practice. Each with its characteristics and skills: Elior bringing its knowledge gained within a daily and qualified engineering in the production of millions of meals, the Mensa dei Frati di Sant'Antonio da Padova welcoming those who are destitute, sharing much more with them of a meal. Food Bank as a bridge that unites these realities through its action to recover food surpluses and their donation to charitable structures. Last but not least, the municipal administration in its ability to enhance and support in a subsidiary way the positive attempts that are born in Milan .

"For our group the theme of sustainability is absolutely fundamental – says Rosario Ambrosino, CEO of Elior – With the Positive Foodprint Plan project, we aim to create a virtuous circle in the world of catering, from the field to the table, so that everyone consciously makes the choice more sustainable. We focus our efforts on the entire supply chain to create value in every step, from the search for ingredients to the choice of suppliers, from cooking methods and techniques to the equipment to be used, from awareness of good and healthy food to training, to the recovery of surpluses where they are created. Equally important are our collaborations, as in the case of the Banco Alimentare Foundation, with which we have been running a surplus recovery project for over 10 years. In 2018 alone we managed to distribute together about 36,000 meals recovered from our restaurants09 .

The winning circular plate: Ramen alla lombarda

Ingredients:

For the broth
Chicken wings, neck and skin, Carrots, onion, celery, fennel outer leaves, pea pods, powdered ginger, soy sauce, coarse salt

For the chicken cut:
Chicken breast , Panure of stale rye bread, anchovies, capers

For the buckwheat crepes
Buckwheat flour, water, turmeric powder, salt and pepper

For the gasket
Boiled egg , Carrot tufts

Preparation:

Arrange all the ingredients for the broth in cold water and bring to the boil. Prepare the chicken breast by breading it with stale bread, capers and anchovies and cook it in a mixed oven for 10 12 minutes. Cook one egg for 8 minutes, up cut as cut placed on the side of the plate together with the egg in the stock and ricotta ball with almond on the crepes.

Recipe by Emanuele Oldani and Antonio Oliva

Cover photo: from left Emanuele Oldani – elior chef Marco Lucchini – Rosario Ambrosino – AD Elior, Marco Serina – chef Elior, Ilaria D'Aquila – hr elior director, Marco Lucchini – Banco Alimentare General Secretary, Antonio Oliva – Vice President of the Foundation Food Bank.