Over one thousand guests, customers, friends and journalists accepted our invitation to attend the evening, a triumph of great tastes and good taste, in line with Longo’s mission. The Triennale Salone d’Onore was staged as a large piazza with countless small shops which provided the opportunity to taste artisan foods, whose gastronomic delights are the hallmark of the Longo catalogue.
Selected from the finest speciality food producers, three renowned norcinerie (traditional places where you can eat home cured pork and ham products) offered incomparable prosciutto and salami from Friuli to Tuscia.
The art of preserving vegetables and herbs from the extraordinary Italian countryside, together with sauces that make pasta a Mediterranean dish par excellence, were yet further examples of the savoury products available. Dozens of tastings that satisfied the most demanding gourmets and which, for many, were a real discovery. Famous chef Sergio Mei prepared Risotto alla Milanese with its distinctive “yellow” Acquerello rice rather than ordinary rice. This tribute to Milan provided a warming touch to the menu. A gamut of different oil varieties, including an oil made from olives pressed 24 hours previously, and artisan beers were yet two more of the attractions: diverse but up-to-the-minute products with a thousand year history.
From savoury to sweet, one after the other, because this is the beauty of the market in the piazza. Chocolate, biscotti famous throughout the world, torroni, superb dried figs from Calabria and, of course, exclusive panettone from Bardi which completed the product range and signalled the end of the evening.
The noted Enoteca Longo, twice winner of the “Oscar”, presented a selection of outstanding wines from Italian vineyards - wine designed as a prestigious gift and recognised for its excellence by the three siblings. A successful impromptu toast was assured by the Franciacorta Ca’ del Bosco, the moment when wine becomes a joyful celebration of life.
Whilst our sensory faculties were satiated by all these gastronomic delights, a video showed scenes from famous films, an analogy of how food is a work of art as well as a masterpiece of dexterity and design. The more attentive will not fail to see a succession of three flash images of the Longo siblings who wanted to emphasise the values attributed to food: beauty, love, spirituality, creativity, imagination, subtlety, sharing and life experience. Values that are at the forefront of the annual catalogue which offers this approach to food and wine gifts. An easily assimilated voyage through Made in Italy cuisine, recalling a traditional agricultural way of life.
Along the way, I Longo have created a guide that combines regions and gastronomic specialities, guiding you away from the autoroutes to discover pastures unknown. This Guide, the Fuoricasello, magnified, indicated the entrance to the Salone alongside three fascinating car bodywork details by the atelier Zagato. An interpretation of this high profile journey.
Attention to design is always at the forefront of Longo packaging; modern, environmentally-sustainable, never bland, the result of meticulous research into shapes and materials, as the Salone at Triennale staging demonstrated.
A quartet of young, talented musicians were entrusted with the task of adding a harmonious touch to the evening’s entertainment. They contributed a unique touch to an already lavish, exciting evening in the style of the Longo siblings, who have made their own rules in life through the pursuit of quality food, and respect for customers and suppliers.
Click here to read the article
