Stages in Australia, Japan, Mexico and the United States

The last two weeks in June will see the second-year students of the Gastronomic Sciences degree course leaving Pollenzo to travel around the world, to Oceania, Asia or North America. The four groups of 15 students each will be on stage to study the gastronomic traditions, local agriculture and typical products of either Australia, Japan, Mexico or the United States, where they will be based in California.

In Australia the stage will be centered on South Australia. From the city of Adelaide the students will travel to the wine country of Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale, picturesque Fleurieu Peninsula and beautiful Kangaroo Island. From wineries to farmers’ markets, community gardens to fish-and-chip shops, the stage will showcase the rich variety of South Australia’s food culture. On Kangaroo Island alone the group will visit an organic honey producer, a eucalyptus distillery, a sheep’s-milk cheesemaker and abalone and freshwater-crayfish farms.

Japan’s food culture is very complex, full of ritual and ceremony. During this group’s travels around the cities of Tokyo and Kyoto and the rural countryside, they will study typical products like rice, soy sauce, soba noodles, vegetables, pickles, tea and sake, and the history of traditional dishes like tamagoyaki omelettes and sushi. One of the highlights of the trip will be the guided visit to the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, the world’s biggest fish and seafood wholesale market. During the early-morning chaos the students will have the chance to visit various stalls and watch the famous tuna auction.

Mexican food is famous around the world, but during this stage the 15 students traveling here will have a chance to get to know the real Mexico, visiting archeological sites and museums and learning from local experts and academics about the history and culture behind what people eat. From a vanilla plantation to the agave fields of a mezcal distillery, from the Teotihuacan pyramids to the bustling Oaxaca market, the students will see and taste the authentic Mexico.

Organic agriculture, winemaking and sustainable fishing will be three of the key themes during the stage in California, in the United States. From San Francisco to the vineyard-lined valleys of Napa and Sonoma to the large-scale produce farms of Salinas, the trip will give students an idea of the range of food and wine being made in California, taking them to small organic farms and huge wineries, to the Chez Panisse restaurant and to an innovative school-gardens project.