Last week we
posted about the surprise (at least to me) culinary tradition of Turin,
site of the Winter Olympics. It turns out that this region of Italy is actually more famous amongst Italians for
its food than its winter sport facilities.
The LA Times initially introduced
us to the pasta and truffle specialties found in the Turin region which we posted about. Last Sunday the
paper spotlighted another culinary
joy for which Turin is famous: chocolate. Confectioners in Turin have been perfecting the art of chocolate
making for more than 500 years, and according to journalist Bill Shaikin, it looks like they’ve got it
right.
Peyrano, for example, is just one of the many famous,
family-owned chocolate shops that has a long tradition of churning out rich morsels and creamy hot chocolate that would
melt the biathlon course. Interested tourists need not just limit themselves to one or two chocolate houses,
however. The ChocoPass, just $12, allows the hungry and gluttonous a free sample at all of Turin’s
chocolate shops. That’s 23 pieces of chocolate in case you’re counting.
And if that’s not good enough to quench the chocolate cravings, the city hosts the Big Chocolate Fair from March 24 to April 2. I just can’t
imagine what an orgy of chocolate this must be. Screw the Olympics! Get those athletes out of Turin as soon
as possible so the city can concentrate on what it does best.