Today we're talking to Silvia Massarengo, a passionate cook and cheese producer. This spring and autumn, Silvia will oversee two very special culinary weeks at the Locanda Mistral and introduce the participants to the art of slow food cooking.
That is why we are now learning more about Silvia, what (or better, who) brought her to the Valle Maira and about her culinary career: from restaurant owner to excellent slow food cook and Genepì maker, and now, mountain cheese producer.
Dear Silvia, when did you discover your love for gastronomy? Was cooking always your dream job?
My passion for cooking began in my childhood, because I have always been extremely curious about what my mother and grandmother conjured up on the table. I watched their hands closely while they were cooking and, without really being aware of it, learned a lot of little things. I was able to apply these very personal “treasures of knowledge” in my subsequent work as a cook. And of course when, thanks to meeting my husband, I was able to realise my personal dream of owning my own small restaurant.
And how did your love for the Valle Maira come about? What fascinates you about this valley and why did you open your restaurant here in Stroppo in 1989?
It was a coincidence that Stroppo came to the Valle Maira. I met my future husband in this valley and together we decided to start our work at Stroppo, very close to his home. So I only had the opportunity to get to know the beauty of the Valle Maira in a second moment. This untouched mountain valley, fascinating and also a little mysterious, in which you can still really experience nature in all its splendour.
In spring and autumn, you will oversee a very special culinary week at the Locanda Mistral. What can the participants look forward to? What will you teach them?
I will try to convey to the participants the desire for new things, for trying out new dishes. Together we will also explore the connection between tradition and innovation, through the journey of Occitan cuisine from days gone by to the present day.
Cooking is an art. How would you describe your attitude towards cooking, gastronomy and enjoyment?
Gastronomy is one of the cultural expressions of a region. With the help of the understanding of recipes, one comes into contact with the tradition of an area: one can recognise habits, necessities and also the character of its inhabitants.
As Locanda Mistral, we are committed to sustainability. That is why we are all the more pleased that this topic is also becoming increasingly important in the culinary world, e.g. with the movement towards "Fighting Food Waste", the cooperation with local producers, the renunciation of meat from factory farming. How did you observe this development and what do you think the future will bring us?
We can show the greatest respect for the natural resources a region offers us if we do not waste any of them. For example, there was a time when you didn't waste or throw anything away from slaughtering a pig. Everything was used and used as best as possible.
Eating is a return to the wisdom of our ancestors and is very topical when we think of the limited resources of our planet. Following seasonality has always been one of my philosophies in the restaurant. In summer I have a lot of vegetables and herbs in my own little garden at 1,400 m above sea level.
The trend from “farm to table,” with the shortest possible transport distances, is a decision in favour of the environment and guarantees high quality and freshness of the food. It is also a concrete support of the local producers who have decided to live in the mountains - regardless of the objective difficulties this decision brings with it.
I think and hope that more and more sustainable decisions will be supported for a better future.
The last question is of course also about enjoyment: What is your favourite recipe? What is your favourite dish of the Valle Maira that every guest should definitely try?
I don't really have a favourite recipe ... I cook whatever I feel like. But if I have to decide, it would be an "Agnello Sambucano" - a Zambucan sheep, that is a breed of sheep that originally comes from the neighbouring valley of the Valle Maira, the Valle Stura.
Every guest in the Valle Maira and Locanda Mistral should definitely try the potato-based starters. And definitely the well-known “raviolis” with butter and sage.
DISCOVER MORE about the culinary week and SLOW FOOD cooking course with Silvia Massarengo.
About me, Silvia Massarengo: I attended the Academic Lyceum and then enrolled at the University of Literature and Philosophy. In 1989 I dropped out of my studies and moved to the Valle Maira, where I opened a small, family-run restaurant in Stroppo with my husband, Paolo Rovera, in the same year. In 1997 we started growing medicinal plants and herbs, especially Genepì (the black rue), from which we also produce the liqueur of the same name. In 2012 our own cheese dairy was born, the “Caseificio del Sarvanot”, where we produce mountain cheese.
