Conservative and progressive Terroir

So what kind of terroir are you? The question may seem idle, a gourmet version of that wondering about the gender of angels, yet in fact it is not idle at all. Indeed it implies a basic choice: is the conceptual set haphazardly mixing territory, knowledge, genius loci, traditions, history and culture, and which it is luckily possible to summarise in just one word, though taken from French – terroir that is –,mostly referred to the roots or the fruits? In other words, is it conservative or progressive? «Besides, we should no longer use this word, too exploited from marketing departments. In fact, I almost never use it, I prefer “earth”», stressed a brilliant Michel Bras, guest of honour at the debate which, on the second day of Care’s in Val Badia, focused on a critical interpretation of the above mentioned terroir.

On the stage, Fernanda Roggero and Licia Granello had the task of contextualising the issue. And they both immediately agreed: «It is not a conservative concept. Roots do not stop the development of a plant, but they are a necessary precondition. Then comes the creativity», stressed the former, while Granello confirmed: «When we speak about tradition, we face two possible meanings: one is a close, identity-focused one, the other is inclusive, recalling a physical and ideal place from which to start a development. Terroir in the second case is something fantastic: because there could never be any fine dining without the necessary foundations built by the many extraordinary producers of lovely things that make a territory alive».

Terroir should be considered, in other words, as something open and “democratic”, even welcoming, because you don’t acquire it by birth, you don’t inherit it through blood but it can be learnt over time, «you need to live it, breathe it. You need to dive into it, speak with people».

And as for the inclusive and plural terroir, the incursion in the debate of someone like Jock Zonfrillo, previously at Marco Pierre White, was like the cherry on the cake. «I am the son of the five o’clock tea and of pasta with tomato. My initial terroirs of reference were indeed two: Scotland, where I was born, and where my mother’s father was a farmer, and Italy where my father’s father came from, from Naples, and he was the one to teach me about product culture».

Zonfrillo, on top of these two initial terroirs later added the learning of French techniques, and then a further, radically different terroir, the Australian one, where he now works. «I went to the desert seven times, to ask the Aborigines about their culture, in terms of food and more, because I couldn’t believe that a people with so many centuries of history had not developed one. Six times they sent me home. In the end, they finally convinced themselves and told me everything. Today in my kitchens [at Street-ADL and Orana, both in Adelaide] I use over 60 traditional Aboriginal ingredients. Only 10% is made of animal proteins, the rest is vegetables and roots». Hence the rockfish is cooked in intertwined mangrove wood, which adds smoke and salt. Other-worldly terroir.