Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/724773
f a l l 2 0 1 6 | 6 3 Here's an example: "Bolognese sauce, from Bolo- gna region, was a dish a poor mother made for her children using the cheapest meat, yet adding in wine, vegetables and herbs to flavor it perfectly," explains Nocita. It is a "poor man's food" and comes from the fishermen of the region, made with only a few basic ingredients that they could take out to sea and could last for days at a time. The Bolognese people of today would never serve Bolognese meat sauce with spaghetti, which is wheat pasta from Naples! Oh no, they would only serve it with locally made pasta, like a tagliatelle, or a tortel- lini, both of which are types of egg pasta that were created in the Bologna region. Only in Italy is pasta taken so seriously! And when it comes to these two chefs, there is a nice parallel between McDonald and Nocita's life stories. They both came to Calabria seeking regional products and techniques in cooking. They both be- gan cooking at a very young age and they both share a huge passion for cooking regional Italian cuisine. Now they share their food passions of Calabria and show people Italy's regions in order to teach them about the food cultures of Italy. If Chef John is the soul of this family of chefs, then Chef Mark is the heart, as he leads tours to this long forgotten region of the world. Sicily is known for rich soils, which keep the goats and sheep fed well and hearty, resulting in some of the best goat and sheep's milk cheeses in the world! This cheese wheel is from an Agriturismo in Calabria. Agriturismos are farmhouses where people can stay and dine on foods made from that hyper- local region. The cheese and charcuterie board is from a food market in the city of Ortiga on the island of Syracuse, on Sicily's Southwestern coast. This plate offered Pecorino, caponeta, olive bread, copa, sausage with pistachio, sun- dried tomatoes on toast with spicy red peppers. The city of Tropea is famous for its Tropea onions, which are known for being so sweet you can eat them like an apple. They grow on the clay cliffs descending toward the sea from Mount Poro and are among Southern Italy's greatest ingredients. ■cr