Day 9 – Turin – Mi Adora Torino

I’m sorry Germany; I think I may be a fair weather friend.  I think I may also have had conversations like this with boyfriends past.  Really, it’s not you, it’s me.  I know I said I loved you, but that was just the place I was in at the time and maybe I was a little hasty.  I do like you, can’t we be friends? You see I really love Italy…

And whilst I am not sure that I am comfortable harnessing the abbreviated text based language of youth – but OMG seems so appropriate.  Particularly if followed by several exclamation marks – such as OMG!!!!

I don’t even know where to start as I feel like I just end up a dithering mess of excited enthusiasm.   So let’s start with the obvious; I find myself in Torino, the oft forgotten Italian city eclipsed by the likes of Roma, Firenze and Venezia.  And to be fair, the trip from the airport seems to justify such negligence.  I try to ignore the surrounds and tell myself I’m here for the chocolate, not anything else.   But then at a certain point in my journey, Italy (or at least the Italy of my mind) starts to expose herself. And thankfully Torino is not only the home of chocolate in Italy but also a stunningly beautiful city!

And with so much beauty around – the chocolate, the architecture, the shoes, the Italian men – I find myself walking around with a perpetual and slightly stupid grin on my face, just like when you fall in love.  So I return to the title of this entry; adora il Torino!

Now for the boring practicalities, just skip this paragraph if you don’t like boring practicalities.  Torino (Turin for us English speakers who choose not to put on pretentious Italian turns like myself) is the chocolate capital of Italy having produced the wondrous dark stuff since the 17^th century.  Not only that, but the area, Piemonte, is world famous for its rather amazing hazelnuts.  And put chocolate and hazelnuts together and what do you have?  No, not Nutella (well okay, yes Nutella but more the point) gianduja and molto happiness!

First stop is to buy the local Chocopass that gives me ten tastings in two days for a paltry 12,00 Euro.  Sounds reasonable but I must admit I am half way through day one and already the sweet stuff is taking its toll.

Second stop is a factory tour of local and renowned artisan producer Guido Gobino of which I have heard magical things about.  (It is worth checking out their website www.guidogobino.it.)  The factory is a mixture of highly specialist and scientific machines and handmade craftsman.  Anyone who has ever tried to temper chocolate (or more likely watched those on Master Chef try and temper) you would feel a little jealous for the rather phenomenal and specific tempering machines they have.  However, what impresses me at a production level is two things, the first is they purchase beans but do the full processing themselves – no buying in chocolate.  The second is their commitment to the aesthetic and how much energy they have obviously invested in design to make the finished product the full experience it should be.

But let’s be honest, what really impresses is the taste!  And taste we do.  Gorbino kindly provide a tasting of most of their products of which our group of ten civilized, polite people turn slightly frenzied as arms outstretch all at once, in some fear one might just miss out.  Highlights include:

• Their famous Integral Sea Salt and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cremino; a stunning morsel of gianduja that almost finishes on the sweet and delicate taste of the particular salt used, but just before the end the olive oil and its smooth flavour kick in along with chocolate and hazelnut base.
• Dark Chocolate Cremino; this looks great with layers of dark and milk chocolate but the full cocao, slightly biscuit flavour, hits the spot against the normal sweetness of gianduja.
• Giandujottinot Tourinot; a darker version of the classic gianduja and in a tiny 5g size (I almost convince myself I haven’t inhaled a bunch of chocolate when eating these) but what impresses most is the thick, luscious texture.
• And a surprise entrant in standouts is the Enrobed Ginger in White Chocolate and Mint; neither white chocolate or ginger are normally my thing, but the ginger cuts through the white chocolate and the mint lightens it resulting in a wonderfully balanced combination.

So these are the standouts.  I do need to be honest and cite the not so good.  Do you remember me mentioning the use of pumpkin seeds and chocolate in Germany in a previous post?  I kind of get that.  But Gobino takes it one step further with a seasonal specialty – Chocolate Enrobed Pumpkin.  Yes, you did read correctly.  They actually have a play on words/Italian phrase they use to advertise it but it eludes me but I still can’t get past pumpkin and chocolate.  Now to be fair, this isn’t just a piece of good ol’ Aussie roasted pumpkin with some chocolate drizzled over it, it is candied pumpkin enrobed in milk chocolate.  And it isn’t actually bad as such, it is unusual and dare I say unnecessary, but I am sure some people love it.

Needless to say I love Gobino and whilst I don’t feel the need for pumpkin chocolate I  did make an awful lot of purchases, as you can see from the photo (the bulk of which are from Gobino and a few ring ins from other stores, excluding those I ate during the day).  No surprises I also find myself significantly poorer and with a luggage dilemma as I had already maxed out my luggage quota.

I should note that the factory store I visited is open to the public for those who wish to seek it out (it isn’t that far from the city, about a ten minute walk) and it is different and more accessible than the boutiques in the city (and now one in Milan).  I also like that the factory store has different offerings, particularly with more blocks and gianduja.  And keep an eye out for a great bargain – 500g bags of giandujotto for only 7,50 Euro instead of the normal 18,00.  It isn’t quite as prettily packaged, and you get some giandujotto that have been personalized for other companies (i.e. promotional) but it’s still the same Gobino product and a great bargain.

There has been other chocolate tested, consumed and enjoyed today but nothing compares to Gobino, so let’s leave it at that as I also adora il Gobino!

Oh, happy days!