Arco’s Fat Friday Celebrates 125th Edition Without Beef Ragù Due to BSE

For thirty years, Fat Friday has been celebrated in Arco with the large “gnoccolata” in the square. The 125th edition of the Gran Carnevale will be no exception, except for a small but significant detail regarding the menu: no beef ragù this year. Of course, this is due to the mad cow disease syndrome.

The team led by Mario Marchetti, the heart of the committee organizing the Fat Friday feast, has decided this based on advice from the Health Office of the Azienda Sanitaria, and just yesterday they gathered to “study” a substitute condiment that is just as tasty and appealing as the banished beef ragù.

The committee’s decisions and health considerations

After the numerous discussions and statements about mad cow disease, the health directives banning the use of beef in school and daycare cafeterias, and the growing distrust among consumers, the committee could not ignore the issue. They addressed it in a timely manner, consulting competent and authoritative sources on the subject.

They asked the Health Office officials—who are routinely consulted for provisional authorization to serve and prepare foods for the group that cooks and distributes the dish—whether it was advisable to abandon the traditional condiment. In the authorization letter, the doctors added a note advising against using ground beef, especially because a portion of the gnocchi, as in previous years, will be distributed in school cafeterias.

The choice of condiment and hopes to sustain success

After careful consideration, Marchetti and his colleagues decided it was best to opt for another culinary specialty, at least to prevent the BSE epidemic panic from deterring many “customers.” Over many years of dedicated service, not a single crumb of the “gnoccolari” has ever remained in the pans, and this year, the goal remains to serve 10,000 to 12,000 portions in just a couple of hours, as always.

It’s easier to say than to do, but offering the residents of Arco something as tasty as ragù is a very delicate task. This is why Mario Matteotti summoned the chefs a month before the event in the square, scheduled for February 23. When informing the President of the Carnevale Committee, Albino Marchi, of the update, Marchetti also mentioned that the idea of cooking a pork-based ragù had been discarded—it would produce a sauce with a sweetish flavor. Therefore, the main ingredient of the sauce will be tomato. The rest remains to be seen.