Tropicana Jul-Aug 2018 #119 Hot Stuff

THE COOKBOOK
There is no such thing as spaghetti
Bolognese. No, the dish you've
rustled up for dinner a thousand
times or plucked from the menu
of a high-street Italian restaurant is a
fabrication. An abomination, even.
Go on, I dare you. Try to order 'spag bol'
in any Emilia-Romagnan restaurant
and see what happens...
You will likely be told through
gritted teeth that spaghetti Bolognese
is an American invention, a corruption
of the dish, which should always be
made with fresh tagliatelle.
Semolina-based spaghetti just
cannot hold ragu – the authentic name
for the meat sauce known worldwide as
Bolognese, which so readily soaks into
freshly made egg-and-flour pasta.
In Emilia-Romagna, also known
as Italy's food valley, such distinctions
are very important. So dedicated to
cuisine are the people of a northern
region blessed with a humid subtropical
climate, that their excellence in
food standards was recognised by the
Michelin Guide.
The unveiling of the Italian edition
of the red book, detailing the best places
to both eat and sleep, was shifted from
its long-term base in Milan to Parma, a
city with only two starred restaurants.
So why this provincial outpost?
Designated a UNESCO City of
Gastronomy at the end of 2015,
over 30%of its working population
are involved in the production and
serving of food. It is the gastronomical
capital of the food valley and arguably
of the northern half of the country.
And what better way to showcase the
craftsmanship and taste of the province
than by hosting a lavish Michelin
ceremony at the stunning
Teatro Regio opera house.
A 1,400-seater auditorium that
normally hosts tributes to Parma's
musical sons Verdi and Toscanini,
saw, in mid-November last year, the
cream of Italy's chefs rewarded for their
culinary endeavours. But conspicuously
absent from the stage were the unsung
heroes – the producers who churn
milk into Parmigiano-Reggiano
(better known as Parmesan) or salt the
haunches that will become prosciutto.
The valley's many food producers may
work independently as businesses, but
they are united in their commitment to
preserving tradition and flavour.
95 JULY/AUGUST 2018 | TM