Who are the people in your neighborhood?

Spending three months in a small town, one of the things you should do is try to get to know people.  Especially people that are in the same industry as yourself.  Sometimes it's easy, sometimes not so much.  I did try, I really did.   I had one real problem though, my addiction to gelato.  This brought me to L'Officina del Gelatohttp://www.lofficinadelgelatoorvieto.com and Tommaso Parodi.

Tommaso, originally from Palermo, has been making gelato for over 20 years.  And like my chef, Lorenzo Polegri is passionate about, well, everything he is involved with, Tommaso is very passionate about not only life, but his gelato.  The passion that he has is revealed in the flavors and quality of his gelato.

L'Officina del Gelato is located on Corso Cavour in Orvieto.  I believe he told me he has only been in Orvieto for a year now.  Prior to this, he ran a gelateria in Rome, but he wanted to slow down, just a bit and get away from the hustle bustle of the big city.  Even though his turn over for gelato was larger in Rome, he never let the quality be compromised.  He has always used only fresh, seasonal ingredients.  He makes his base as opposed to using an industrial made base and what he uses is posted on a board above the case of gelato - milk, eggs, cream, sugar, fruit, fruit juice, chocolate, and coffee.

Tommaso's beliefs are quoted -" ..... The use of raw materials of high quality allows the gelato ice-cream production exclusively from natural ingredients, with no additives because emulsifiers, artificial flavorings, vegetable fats, dyes and preservatives, replaced by vegetable fibers, fatty and milk proteins. At one time the production of ice cream was obtained using a machine called a sorbet, cooled with ice and salt, and through the freezing "manual", by means of a long stick with a spatula. Today, fortunately, something has changed ..


The basic steps of the preparation (hot) are:

Recipe / formula and dosage
mixing
pasteurization
Emulsification (if any)
maturation
freezing
Hardening (if any)
Conservation / Exposure
The preparation of a good ice cream from the study of the recipe (or formula) with the subsequent assay of raw materials and ingredients of quality."

You can taste a difference in gelato's.  Once you have a gelato with a base made from scratch, using fresh, quality, and seasonal ingredients, you'll be able to detect the machine made, mass produced bases.  But the big thing, knowing that there is no passion making that industrial base, no true quality control, just the press of a button, that's where the true test shines through.  Knowing that Tommaso experiments and uses not only himself, but his employees and a few lucky passers by to test his new flavors before he puts them on offer for the public, shows that he will not sell his product, just because.  No, he truly cares about what he sells and serves to us.

Tommaso Parodi and myself.

The other person I was able to get to know, just a bit is Antoni at Blue Bar on Via Garibaldi in Orvieto.  Antoni is not like your average Italian, probably because he is French.  Why or how did he end up in Italy, let alone a small town like Orvieto?  He did it for his wife, Romina, who is from Orvieto.

Antoni, like Tommaso and Lorenzo, has this personality that you can't escape.  He is warm and welcoming to all who enter.  How you react to his hospitality determines how the rest of your night will go.  But truth be told, even the coldest visitor he treats with respect and he will continue to try to get you to warm up to Blue Bar up to the point of you walking out the door.

Come in for a cafe' or cappuccino, one of the best in Orvieto.  Or you can stop in, during evening apertivo.  You will not be disappointed.  However, like many places in Orvieto and Italy, during the afternoon, do not expect them to be open, because it is time for rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation.

Antoni and Blue Bar

I met other fascinating people, but didn't really get to know them, but they stick out in my memory.  There was Slavic at Montanucci http://www.barmontanucci.it/main.php, Jimmy at Clandestino, Tiziano -"The porchetta guy" from Baschi, Palmiro -"The cheese guy", and Silviano - "The Sicilian lady killer".  And if I would've spent more time at Nando(another and possibly the best bar/pasticceria around) http://www.barpasticcerianando.it, I would have gladly been able to get to know everyone there.

This is Loreonzo Polegri and Silviano - The Sicilian lady killer.  I promise you girls, he's a keeper.  He had the best arrancia, pera, and carciofi(with volcanic ash still on it), in the market.

Some folks in Orvieto, as I said before, can be kind of cold and unwelcoming to visitors, but I think most small towns, whether you are in Europe or the US, or anywhere in the world can have those people.  This is something that you should never let throw you off or make you not want to visit, because for everyone one of those people, there are 5 people that want to know about you, where you are from, what you do, and possibly the biggest connection-WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO EAT!

The chocolate box and the gelato drawer-Dolce in the countryside

I've been back in the US for a little more than a week, back at work, and almost back into the swing of things.  I had a mind clearing, soul cleansing, life changing experience.  An experience that although not everyone can have, I encourage you to try, at least for a week or a few weeks.

Attempting to get back to whatever some consider reality or a normal lifestyle, it's something I hope to avoid, but I did have to go back to work to start bringing pay checks back into the picture.  Still, I find myself wanting to write more, because there is so much more to write about.  It was three months of cooking, traveling, experiencing, loving, living, eating, drinking, and flushing out the bad to make room for all of the new and good.  I am now filled with a new zest for life, a new perspective on the future, and a heart void of anger.  I will do everything I can to not let that reenter my life because it makes things toxic and ugly.

That being said, let's talk about something that I learned about on my first night in Orvieto and the first BBQ in the countryside - the Gelato drawer and the Chocolate box.

Now, the story behind the gelato drawer, I don't remember word for word and it's not a deep story, but it's become tradition, and one of the many things that visitors experience and should savour on their visit to the countryside.

It's a simple story of overbuying gelato.  This is not your typical gelato though.  It is what we here in the US would consider ice cream bars - from ice cream sandwiches to white, dark, and milk chocolate ice cream bars on a stick, and drumsticks.  There is a difference in flavor between what we have here and what they have there.  Mostly because of the regulations in what ingredients they are allowed to put in their treats, compared to ours.

One evening, I believe it was a year or so prior to our groups arrival, Chef Polegri and Chef Brookmire were hosting an internship group to a BBQ at the home in the countryside.  There was some shopping prior to venturing out to the house.  Unknowingly by Chef Brookmire, some of the students had picked up some gelato to have after dinner, however she(Chef Brookmire) had also purchased boxes of gelato.  After a few laughs from discovery of the gelato avalanche, room was made in Chef Polegri's freezer, and at that time the gelato drawer was born.   Besides gelato and an occasional Zuppe Inglese, nothing else occupies the freezer.  I don't think that's such a bad thing.

The drawer overfloweth with gelati!

In addition to the gelato offered in the countryside, we were introduced to the chocolate box.  I can't remember how the chocolate box came to be, but I'm certainly not unhappy that it exists, and neither is anyone that has had the opportunity to reach in and sample the delicious chocolates that it holds.

What I can tell you about the box is that it is a ceramic box, originally made to hold biscotti, however because of a slight flaw during I assume was the baking process, the lid did not fit properly.  Chef Polegri and Chef Brookmire loved this beautiful piece of ceramic artistry, which may I add is typical of Orvieto and the region of Umbria.  This piece was made in Deruta, Italy which is located in Umbria.http://derutaitaly.com  All of their pieces are hand painted and sold throughout the world.  The piece that the Chef's purchased, since it had a flaw, was discounted(what luck!), so they purchased it and designated it as the chocolate box.  All who enter Casa Segreta are required(unless you have some unfortunate allergy or sensitivity to chocolate or nuts) to reach in and "have a chocolate!!"

Mama mia!

These are just two of the examples of the hospitality that the Chef's offer on anyone's experience in Orvieto.  And this is something that I brought back with me, but sadly, I was unable to bring back a ceramic box, so, until I am able to have a piece from Deruta, this will have to do.

Ours is more of just a box, however it holds the same chocolatey goodness as the chef's.