Made in ITALY

With three of the world's top food authorities along for the ride, ANNA HART goes gonzo in Emilia-Romagna.

- ANNA HART

If you’ve ever wondered where European chefs go on holiday in pursuit of amazing food, I can tell you: Emilia-Romagna in central Italy. This I know, because I have spent four glorious days road-tripping the region with three European culinary hotshots, a chance to get inspired and bond with fellow food obsessives, after one of the weirdest eras in hospitality history.

Mention a trip to Emilia-Romagna to any Italian, and they’ll invariably send their eyes skyward with envy and murmur “oh, the food”, for this is the home of Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and aged balsamic vinegar of Modena. It’s also the birthplace of tortellini, piadina and Bolognese sauce (called ragù here; it’s only termed Bolognese when you’re far from Bologna). Italy has classified 138 of its homegrown food products as Protected Designation of Origin (DOP or Denominazione Origine Protetta), and a wildly disproportionate 44 of them are in Emilia-Romagna. Without the region’s farmers, butchers, cheesemakers, winemakers and chefs, Italian cuisine as we know it is hard to picture. This makes Emilia-Romagna a pilgrimage of sorts for passionate food lovers.