CHOCOLATE AND “TONDA GENTILE DELLE LANGHE”: A LOVE STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING

When speaking of Piedmontese chocolate, known throughout the world for its unique delicious flavour, one can't fail to mention the star of this wonderful confection: the Tonda Gentile delle Langhe hazelnut , called simply Piedmont hazelnut in the European Community directive that established the PGI, Protected Geographical Indication , in 1996. Its elegance, refinement and long-lasting aroma, together with its regular shape and high nutritional and energy values, make Piedmont hazelnuts an indispensable ingredient for the production of Gianduiotto , a symbol of the Piedmontese chocolate-making tradition throughout the world. The history of Piedmontese chocolate is closely linked to , a city in which the food of the gods has exercised a particular fascination, first conquering the elite aristocracy and gradually becoming a product eaten by the entire population. Now, let's discover the milestones of its five centuries of history and all the curiosities and interesting facts that make Turin the true Chocolate Capital of Italy.

CHOCOLATE: SYMBOL OF TURIN'S SWEET TOOTH

Today, Turin is one of the most important chocolate districts of Italy with an industrial and artisanal production that is famous throughout the entire world. When strolling through the city, it is impossible to avoid being tempted by the sweet, mouth-watering aromas of vanilla, roasted almonds and hazelnuts, coffee and cocoa wafting from the chocolate shops that line the streets of the old town centre and the specialities offered by the Piedmontese confectionery tradition. Just enter one of the typical city cafés and you will be enveloped by a warm and elegant atmosphere that has remained unchanged from the 19th century to the present. From the small chocolates called givo , invented right here in Turin, to the bars and cups of hot chocolate and the typical bicerin , the city offers many opportunities to seduce the palates of the most dedicated gourmands… because you can never eat enough chocolate!

TURIN: A CITY WHOSE SWEET TOOTH HAS MADE HISTORY… Turin has always been considered the Chocolate Capital of Italy, boasting a long and important tradition in this sector. The history of chocolate in the Piedmontese capital began in 1559, with the Treaty of Chateau Cambrésis, when Emanuel Philibert of Savoy, general of the Spanish armies under Emperor Charles V, returned to his possessions with several cocoa seeds that he was to serve, in the form of fuming hot chocolate, during the festivities celebrating the transfer of the capital of the Kingdom of Savoy from Chambéry to Turin. Until 1826, the food of the gods was exclusively served and consumed as a hot beverage. It was the entrepreneur Paul Caffarel who first began the production of solid chocolate produced by mixing cocoa, water, sugar and vanilla. This new way of eating chocolate soon conquered the palates of the aristocracy, and many others, marking the unstoppable ascent of the food of the gods as we know it today.

GIANDUIOTTO… A UNIQUELY TORINESE CHOCOLATE Turin is the birthplace of the famous Gianduiotto, chocolate in the shape of a wedge or upside-down boat that immediately became the city's symbol, known in every corner of the globe. “Gianduia paste” was invented by Michele Prochet in 1852, when he found a brilliant solution to the problem of finding supplies of cocoa, which had become prohibitively expensive due to the continental blockade imposed by Napoleon. He decided to add a local product, easier to obtain and certainly more economical, to the local mixture: Langhe hazelnuts, the so-called “Tonda Gentile”, with a definite and delicate taste. Prochet soon understood that, when toasted and finely minced, hazelnuts could make a significant difference, giving the finished product a new, unique and delicious taste. However, it was not until 1865 that “Gianduia”, popularly called “Gianduiotti”, were offered for sale wrapped in a thin gold paper, becoming the first wrapped chocolates. But why is this mouth-watering chocolate called “Gianduia”? Gianduia is the famous Torinese carnival mask whose name comes from the phrase “ Gioann dla doja ”, i.e., Giovanni of the tankard. It was precisely characters wearing this mask who distributed these new mouth-watering chocolates to the revellers during Carnival in 1867, giving them their name.

BICERIN… THE DRINK OF THE GODS Another traditional product much beloved by the Torinesi is Bicerin, a drink made with espresso coffee, chocolate and milk cream invented in 1763, an inspiration of the owner of the bar of the same name. This delight, which was always served piping hot, owes its name to its container, i.e., a small glass that is called bicerin in the Torinese dialect. The original recipe initially provided for three variants: the first, pur e fiur, is comparable to a modern cappuccino; the second, pur e barba, consisted of coffee and chocolate; and the last was called, ’n poc ‘d tut, i.e., a little of everything. It was the last formula that most delighted the palates of Bicerin's customers; it is still produced today following the traditional recipe, and, in 2001, it was officially recognized as the “traditional Piedmontese beverage”.

THE DISTRICT Today, Turin and its district is the largest Italian centre for the processing of chocolate with a production of over 80,000 tons, almost 40% of the national total. But who were the pioneers that first believed in the Torinese chocolate industry, making it one of the most productive in the world? The most important and renowned include Caffarel , a company founded in 1826 by Pierre Paul Caffarel, who joined Michele Prochet in 1878 to produce the most famous gianduiotti; and Leone 1857 , producer of the famous Pastiglie, which began as a sweet shop in Alba opened in 1857 by Luigi Leone and then moved to Turin in 1880. But there are others as well. In 1858, Ferdinando Baratti and Edorado Milano opened their first sweet shop and began the production of chocolate creams, candies and gianduiotti under the Baratti & Milano brand, today owned by the Novi Group . Twenty years later, in 1878, Silvano Venchi, an employee of Baratti & Milano, left the company and started producing chocolate on his own, creating one of the more successful products, Nougatine, which are still produced today by the Venchi company (also the current owner of Talmone 1850, another historic Torinese chocolate company). In 1915, the first Peyrano shop was opened on Corso Moncalieri. Today the brand is owned by the Neapolitan Maione Group. Finally, in 1924, Pietro Arturo Streglio founded Streglio 1924 , a company specializing in pralines and gianduiotti and recently restored to its ancient beauty by businessman Livio Costamagna. It's worth taking a tour of the historic chocolate shops of downtown Turin such as – in addition to the already mentioned Al Bicerin and Baratti & Milano – Fiorio , a famous café frequented by the politicians and statesmen of the Italian Unification; Mulassano , Paissa , Pepino , in Piazza Carignano, where you can still enjoy the famous Pinguino ice cream, created in 1939 and still produced following the original recipe; and, finally, Pfatsich , Platti and Caffè San Carlo , in the piazza of the same name. The new trends in Torinese artisanal chocolate are being created by emerging master artisans of the calibre of Guido Gobino , whose production is characterized by respect for tradition combined with a constant search for new taste sensations; Guido Castagna , the young chocolate maker of Giaveno on the outskirts of Turin; Giovanni and Maurizio Dell’Agnese , cousins and descendants of a chocolate-making dynasty whose roots go back to 1950; Capitano Rosso , the master mariner Gianfranco Rosso, whose company Cambusa continues his family’s tradition combined with innovation and originality; A. Giordano , a chocolate workshop founded in downtown Turin in 1897 and, today, run by the Faletti family; Lorenzo Zuccarello , a young chocolate maker located in Collegno; Marco Vacchieri , whose Dolci Intuizioni is located in Rivalta di Torino ; La Perla and, to conclude, La Stroppiana , whose speciality is a wide variety of chocolate spreads. Today, the names of many other Torinese producers have been forgotten, only to be found on the old labels and tin boxes collected by enthusiasts. Others have been added throughout Piedmont, where the artisanal and industrial production of chocolate is widespread, and dominate the market, like Ferrero a company founded in Alba (Province of Cuneo) in 1942 by Pietro Ferrero. In 1946, the company created the first branded product, Giandujot, a hazelnut-based chocolate bread spread that became an immediate, unexpected success. It was the forerunner of , which is, today, famous throughout the world. Between the 1950s and 1980s, the company launched other successful products on the market, including Mon Chéri, Pocket Coffee and . Other important Piedmontese companies include Novi and Pernigotti , both founded in Novi Ligure in the Province of Alessandria, the former in 1903 as a cooperative of confectionery retailers and wholesalers, and the latter founded in 1868 by Stefano Pernigotti and his son Francesco. Also, one can't overlook other artisanal companies in the region such as Bodrato Cioccolato (Capriate d’Orba, Province of Alessandria) , Giraudi (Castellazzo Bormida, Province of Alessandria), Le Delizie , owned by Silvio Bessone (Vicoforte, Province of Cuneo) and many, many others. For more information about the older and more recent chocolate makers of Turin and the province, we recommend reading CioccolaTorino – Storie, personaggi, indirizzi e curiosità by Clara and Gigi Padovani (BluEdizioni, 2010).