LOCAL HERO

Proud Sardinian chef Francesco Mattana reveals the food, drinks and lifestyle behind the island's Blue Zone status.

- By RACHAEL DAVIS

GROWING up on the Italian island of Sardinia, chef Francesco Mattana was raised on the freshest local food.

Fish, eels, crabs, sweet potatoes, red wine - all caught and grown metres from his family home, prepared communally.

For Francesco, food isn’t just fuel - it’s a pastime, a lifestyle. This, he says, is one of the main reasons Sardinians live long, healthy lives, and why the region has become a global Blue Zone.

“We focus on fresh seasonal ingredients, healthy fats, but another part of it is you spend time cooking and eating together - it’s not just about the actual ingredients, community is part of it,” he adds.

Blue Zones, a term coined by National Geographic explorer Dan Buettner in the early 2000s, describes hotspots of longevity in select global locations. There are five official ones - Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; Loma Linda, California; and Sardinia, Italy - all of which boast a high number of centenarians living healthy lives, attributed to lifestyles that include low stress, rich social interactions, and high-quality diets.