17 Mar How To Celebrate With The Real Italian Food
The importance of “real Italian food”
Yesterday we had an online meeting with a couple living in the USA. During the conversation we were struck by something that the mother of the bride said: she told us they had visited Italy many times and the only time they happened to dislike the food was in a big international hotel.
They were so disappointed for this fact, that now they are afraid it might happen again now that their daughter is about to get married here in Apulia. That’s why they are not looking for a hotel for the wedding, but they want a place where to eat the actual local cooking, they want to experience a real Italian celebration party with the real Italian food!
Here in Italy cooking is such an important aspect, everybody knows that; what is perhaps less known is that there is not only one kind of real Italian food, as every region has developed its own recipes and cooking traditions, according to its own territory, its products and production activities (such as farming, fishing and breeding) and its lifestyle. So, if you want to eat well in Italy you have to understand all these aspects and to follow these easy rules.
A typical Apulian wedding reception (ilcasolaredipuglia.it)
Three easy rules to taste the real Italian food… and the Apulian one!
1. Look for those products that are typical of the place
For example, if you want to eat good sea food, you have to choose a restaurant in a town near the sea: you will have the guarantee that venues receive fresh supplies of fish (sometimes the owners of the restaurants go personally to the port to choose directly the catch of the day!).
In addition, these sea towns usually have a long cooking tradition and restaurants are proud to propose dishes that respect these century-old recipes! (and if they survived so long it’s because they’re delicious!) Apart from normal restaurants, you can also find beautiful wedding venues on the sea that offer this quality together with amazing settings!
2. Look for venues that are typical of the territory
Hotel and restaurant chains are not always very “attached” to the territory and its roots, so they may happen to offer a more impersonal and “standard” cooking.
Traditional venues, such as the Apulian restored masserie, have a deep relationship with the local territory, they are not only wedding venues and hotels but are usually agritourisms too. This means that they directly produce their own organic products and you can be sure that the cooking is always absolutely genuine and that the recipes, that follow the traditions, are always excellent!
Typical Apulian food for this buffet at Tenuta PInto (tenutapinto.it)
3. Follow the typical structure of an Italian menu
Sometimes people abroad have a rather confuse idea of how Italian meals are: for example, for us pasta and rice are always (and I mean ALWAYS) the first course and never (and I mean NEVER) used as a side dish.
So, if you want to eat the real Italian food you must eat it like Italians do: First of all, cold and hot hors d’oeuvres, that usually include typical cured meats, cheese and dairy products. Then the first course that, as said, can be a dish either of pasta or of risotto. The second course is either of meat or of fish and is accompanied by a side dish. Last but not least we have fruit and dessert (and coffee and liquors, too).
Wedding buffet of sweets and fruit at Castello Marchione (castellomarchionne.it)
Italian wedding banquets respect this structure but are usually preceded by a big buffet of hors d’oeuvres, have two different first courses, sometimes more than one second course and are followed by another big buffet of fruit and sweets… and by the wedding cake, of course!
Don’t forget to include some typical dishes for a real Apulian wedding banquet!
And yes, these banquets are very long-lasting, in case you were wondering!!!
If you need some help to find the perfect venue where to taste the real Italian food and celebrate your event the Italian way, contact us now! Our Venue Search service is perfect to answer your needs!
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Lots of (Apulian) love!
♥♥♥ Claudia
[your friendly neighborhood wedding planner]
Cover photo: Masseria Montalbano
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