Magazine: Italy’s food pantry – Part 2

In April 2018 the Guild of Hungarian Restaurateurs (MVI) and Coninvest Kft. organised a culinary trip to Bologna and Modena. Fabrica Italiana Contadina (FICO), probably the biggest agri-food ‘theme park’ in the world, was one of the biggest attractions of the tour. In the 100,000m² FICO visitors had the opportunity to get an insight into how the best hams, cheeses, pastas, wines, etc. are made and utilised.

There are 40 places where FICO visitors can eat and drink. The next stop was balsamic vinegar factory Maipighi in Modena, where the tour’s participants learned about 6-, 12-, and 25-year-old balsamic vinegars and how they are produced. In the Veneto province – the home of prosecco – we visited the Villa Sandi that was built in 1622 to study how prosecco is made, and we also went to see the winery of the Andreola family in Valdobbiadene. They grow grapes on 28 hectares to make prosecco using modern technology. At both places we tasted top proseccos, paired with excellent ham and cheese. On the way home to Hungary we stopped at the Isonzo River to lay wreaths at the scene of the 12 battles where several hundred thousand Hungarian soldiers died between 1915 and 1917. //