On Monday February 13 the second-year students from the Undergraduate Degree in Gastronomic Sciences course left for their study trip destinations. They will be returning to Pollenzo on Friday February 24, having spent 11 days exploring the gastronomic cultures of one of six fascinating international destinations: Cuba, Colombia, India, Thailand, the Philippines or Japan.
In Colombia, the UNISG delegation will be welcomed by two former students, Federico Bobbio and Manlio Larotonda, who work in the sustainable fish business and the coffee and cacao field respectively. The alumni will be guiding the current students on a journey of discovery to learn about the country’s foods, communities, farms and artisanal producers.
In Cuba, the planned itinerary will take the students across the island, meeting with food and agriculture educators, experts and academics along the way, with a particular focus on organic agriculture and a social approach to food production.
In India the study trip will focus on the area around Bangalore and will include visits to associations, communities, markets and local producers. In particular, students will learn about tea, honey, animal farming and Ayurvedic traditions.
The group heading for the Philippines will first land on the island of Negros, in the southwest of the archipelago. Here the students will study rice, sugar cane, molasses and coffee production, and visit important marine reserves. The second part of the trip will take them to the capital Manila and its surroundings.
In Thailand, the students will start in the capital Bangkok before transferring to the eastern province of Ubon Ratchathani. From here the group will make several excursions around the local area to find out more about the local gastronomy, covering everything from agriculture to fishing, markets to street food.
The students visiting Japan will also be met by an UNISG alumnus, Kaori Shibata, who will lead them through the culinary delights of Tokyo. The group will then travel to the Yamagata prefecture, in the northwest of the country’s largest island, Honshu, where they will focus on regional specialties such as sake, typical mountain vegetables and soba (buckwheat noodles) and Buddhist temple cuisine. The journey has been designed to bring the students directly into contact with the local communities, giving them an in-depth experience of the great wealth of Japanese culture.
the Unisg Study Trips >
© UNISG Instagrammers’ photo credits: @chandrakunal @