From February 13 to 25, 2011, Spain and Portugal will be the destination of a winter study trip for 25 international students from the University of Gastronomic Science’s master program. Thirteen intense days will take them through the two countries to discover their history, traditions, culture, and local food products.
The students will meet a variety of local producers of oil, cheese, wine, spirits, and cured meats, and will participate in additional excursions and tasting workshops. From February 14 to 17, visits will include pasta company Pateis de Belem, cheese and cured meat producers in Oriola, Montoito, and Montrargil, olive oil in Selmes and Moura, and a Slow Food cheese presidium in Serpa. They will also have a stop at the reputed wineries Reguengos de Monsaraz and Cabeçao, which use the Roman vinification method using amphorae, and discover the spirits, honey, and cheese of Santana do Campo and Casa Branca.
February 18 and 19 will see additional encounters with producers, among them Santiago de Rio dei Minhos (cheese), Redondo (honey) and Azaruja (cured meats). They will also make a trip to the Montado Forest to meet wine and honey producers, and have tour of the local market in the region of Alentejo, a Slow Food project.
The last three days will be dedicated to additional producer visits, among them the Robledillo de la Vera Finca la Mesa, a biodynamic farm with a longstanding tradition cultivating organic vegetables, herbs, and Pimentòn de la Vera peppers. At a goat farm, the students will taste local goat milk, then go on to the fair-trade winery Bodega Viña Placentina in Plasencia, the Merino-sheep cheese company Torta de la Serena, and the Lomas del Río Zújar Fruit Farm, growers of plums and apricots in the La Serena region.
Numerous tasting experiences of local products will take place, including egg-and-syrup confections at Portalegre and traditional jamón iberico at Albuquerque. The group will also meet a number of local food experts, including Isabel Gonzalez Turmo, who will give a presentation entitled “Systems and culinary typologies in the creation of cuisines,” and the owner of the organic restaurant Gaia, which uses only local products.
For more information, contact:
UNISG Communications Office
comunicazione@unisg.it
tel. 0172 458507-05