Marco Giachello, a real chef from Piedmont

The chef is an artist who shapes nature's ingredients into dishes that are deeply rooted in their territory. Preserving the original flavors and atmospheres has always been an important concept in Italian cuisine and even more in Piedmont where Slow Food was born.

The bond between the chef and his/her home region is vital because it emphasizes how local specialties vary town to town around the year and how they can be developed to adapt to a more modern taste.

Chef Marco Giachello shaving white truffles over his egg tajarin

At Turin Epicurean Capital we are lucky to be working with Chef Marco Giachello since our very first edition in 2014 (lots of Marco's apericena photos here). Marco is a real Piedmontese to his bones, born and raised in Turin, he spent all his summers with his nonni in the Unesco wine country.

Helping his grandparents in their garden and orchard, he got to know how they worked their land and their traditional recipes.

As a chef, Marco doesn't only love the local traditions but he also enjoys to twist them to expand both flavors and palates.

For the 2017 edition of Turin Epicurean Capital cooking class, he decided to lead our guests through a culinary path in the kitchen.

The antipasto was a classic tomino with bagnet vert that joined the creamiest Alpine cheese with a delicious green sauce made with anchovies and fresh parsley. Everything was smoothly hand whisked for the best results 😎

The primo was a Barolo wine risotto one of the staple foods of Piedmont - n.1 European rice producer!

This dish brings people to the rice paddies in the Vercelli and Novara areas and to the Langhe wine district where they make our glorious Barolo wine.

During the cooking class, Marco explained that the onion cooks at a different speed and heath compared to the rice, so he showed us his trick 😉

For 1kg of rice he used one liter of wine and looking at him pouring down the bottle in the huge pot, just made everyone even happier.

 

Finally the dessert: baked Roero peaches stuffed with amaretto cookies, eggs, cocoa and rum 😋

Roero, together with Langhe and Monferrato is one of the Unesco World Heritage sites and besides the vineyards, it is famous for the orchards, the hazelnuts, the chocolate and naturally white truffles!

Chef Marco Giachello during the Turin Epicurean Capital 2017 cooking class - Photo by Alberto Bonis

To make this healthy dessert you need yellow peaches, super quality cocoa, amaretto cookies and rum. Hand mix some crushed amaretto cookies, the cocoa powder and rum; halve the peaches and depit them. Scoop the chocolaty sauce in the peach halves, where the pit was and bake in your oven.

You'll be surprised by the harmony of this natural dessert, how simple and yet refined it is.

Patty Boner, Chef Giachello, Margaret and Bill Goldstein, Christina Conte. Photo by Alberto Bonis 

Fall is one of the best seasons in Piedmont for both chefs and foodies. Currently, Marco is collaborating with Associazione Qubi' in Turin and also works in the Langhe wine district, where he makes huge amounts of tajarin pasta with shaved white truffles, fassone beef braised in Barolo wine and hazelnut chocolate cakes.
He also constantly researches new culinary techniques and ingredients because he believes that there is always something new and interesting to learn and enhance his culinary skills.
Moreover, he enjoys teaching workshops and teaches cooking classes and being  testimonial for kitchen appliances.

Chef Marco Giachello with Christina Conte in Qubi' for TurinEpi 17

No matter the season you happen to be in Turin, meeting Chef Marco Giachello will always make your visit more special. And doing a cooking class with him will be an unforgettable experience as he shares his knowledge and secrets like an old friend.



Thank you Marco for believing in us and Turin Epicurean Capital since the very beginning!