Day 3

Were going to be staying in Alba for 3 nights and so far I’ve really been enjoying the city. Last night I walked the town which is lined with adorable shops and had a lovely dinner at a local restaurant. I sampled several of the popular Piedmontese dishes including what was described to me as “roast beef with tuna fish sauce” which sounds disgusting but was actually really delicious! Our boutique hotel is adorable, but it relies on open air windows for air conditioning, so I spent the night fighting off a swarm of mosquitos. Needless to say I didn’t sleep very well!

Our first stop today was at a company called Albergian, a family owned company specializing in jams, compotes and candies made from local fruits. We toured their facilities which had actually just stopped production the day before ( they only produce when the local fruits are in season) and then we got to taste all of the products, which were delicious.

B. Lange, our second stop, was particularly interesting to me, not only because of my pastry background, but also because their specialty is combining the best chocolate and the best alcohol into one delicious bite. Their rum, grappa and Barolo “cuneesi” were ridiculously good, although I’m not sure I would be ok to drive after eating them!!

Our dinner was actually hosted by the owners of the two companies that we visited, they happen to be married, at a nearby restaurant. After sampling many, many courses including Lardo with Anchovies and Hazelnuts (again, sounds bad, tastes great) we tried more of the chocolate treats from B. Lange including their hazelnut cake which they covered with zabbionne!

Overall it was a wonderful day and I definitely found some amazing products for the store. Tonight, I will be sure to keep my window closed! We start bright and early tomorrow for rice, breadsticks and Torrone!

Stammi bene,

Megan