San Zeno Truffle Festival Highlights Baldo’s Gastronomic Autumn
And now, truffle. After cheese and chestnuts, San Zeno di Montagna’s gastronomic Autumn, the long food and wine festival that began at the end of September, celebrates baldese truffle production throughout December.
San Zeno, after all, positions itself as a small truffle capital of the Baldo: the Municipality has decided to join the national association of truffle cities, alongside renowned locations such as Alba, Norcia, and Acqualagna.
Having successfully concluded the fourth edition of «San Zeno Chestnuts & Wine», with tasting menus based on San Zeno chestnuts and Baldo chestnuts, the event now continues with «Know the Truffle of the Baldo»?, marking its fourth consecutive annual edition.
The Event and Culinary Initiatives
The event, organized by the I Ghiottoni association and Slow Food del Garda veronese in collaboration with the San Zeno di Montagna municipal administration, features main participation from the Kus, Giardinetto, and La Casa degli Spiriti restaurants, which will offer full menus based on black truffle, in conjunction with Valpolicella Solane by Santi.
Additionally, San Zeno di Montagna is already contemplating ideas for further development of its baldese truffle promotion initiatives.
«The goal», confirms Mayor Cipriano Castellani, «is to propose a truffle festival that, like the chestnut festival, encourages many visitors to explore our territory and gastronomic offerings».
Other Initiatives and Cultural Exchanges
Regarding chestnuts, another recent initiative has garnered notable success.
The Compagnia de la castagna dei Paladini di Cà Montagna, a confraternity founded in San Zeno di Montagna by lawyer Marco Bisagno to promote the gastronomy and traditions of the Baldo, was on tour in South Tyrol, hosted by the Merano delegation of the Accademia italiana della cucina, led by Karl Putz.
This led to a friendly and cordial twinning, celebrated at the Köstenwaldele restaurant in Lagundo (the location was quite fitting: the German name of the place means “Chestnut Grove”), with an entirely chestnut-themed dinner: chestnut bread, venison prosciutto with chestnut and leek mousse, chestnut cream with porcini knödel, and so forth, up to a very rare chestnut grappa.
Leading the Baldese delegation were, apart from Bisagno himself, Gran Paladino who was present, Mayor Castellani, the four restaurateurs involved in «San Zeno Chestnuts & Wine», as well as various other Paladins of the fellowship.
At the end of the evening, the Verona poet Franco Ravazzin, official chronicler of the Compagnia de la castagna, composed a vernacular poem praising the chestnut tradition of the Baldo and South Tyrol.
Moreover, an idea has arisen in Merano that could be implemented next year under the aegis of Compagnia de la castanga: to facilitate meetings between restaurants from the Baldo and other Italian chestnut-producing areas, promoting tasting evenings both in the Baldo region and across the national territory.
