Foraging and Tasting Workshop
Tra bosco e forchetta
with Lucia Papponi, naturalist, ethnobotanist and expert in edible wild plants, and Mariangela Susigan, chef-patron of Ristorante Gardenia (Michelin Green Star)
Friday, October 3, from 9:15 AM to 2:00 PM
Spina Verde Park (Pianvalle) – Gardenia Restaurant food point (Orticolario)
Evento a pagamento* e su prenotazione
Foraging [from the verb to forage] – Traditionally, the act of procuring fodder and provisions. In ethology, a typical behavior of many animal species: an instinctive wandering in search of food, guided by necessity and intuitive knowledge of the environment. Human beings also shared this attitude for most of their history, born gatherers before they became cultivators. Yet over time, they progressively distanced themselves from the wild, preferring controlled environments, industrial supply chains, and packaged foods.
Today, the practice of foraging stands in countertrend: a revolutionary gesture in its simplicity, inviting us to put our hands back in the soil, listen to the landscape, and reconnect with food in its most authentic form.
It is from this desire for reconnection that Tra bosco e forchetta comes to life: an immersion outside and within the boundaries of Villa Erba to identify, collect, and savor the banquet that nature spontaneously offers.
A sensory and ecological journey, where walking becomes exploration, the harvest becomes ingredient, and the final dish turns into storytelling.
Program
9:15 AM – meeting point at Galoppatoio car park (Via Regina 2/A)
9:30 AM – departure with Lucia Papponi to Pianvalle/Monte Croce
12:00 PM – end of foraging experience and return to Villa Erba
12:45 PM – tasting experience at Orticolario, with recipes (based on wild herbs) personally prepared by Mariangela Susigan (at Ristorante Gardenia food point)
Tasting Menù
Tartlet with goat cheese, wild garlic, and confit tomato
Wild salad, beetroot hummus, ricotta aged in wild thyme, and Artemisia oil
Carrot terrine with ground elder and fermented apricot
Nettle pâté with brioche bread and dandelion buds in linden honey
Tempura of wild leaves and flowers with saffron mayonnaise
Info
Fee: €70.00* including:
– Foraging experience with tasting
– Parking (valid only on the day of the event) at Galoppatoio car park (Via Regina 2/A)
– Admission to Orticolario (valid for all days of the exhibition – to access, present your name at the entrance)
– Round-trip transfer Villa Erba – Pianvalle
Required equipment: comfortable clothing and shoes (raincoat in case of rain)
The event will take place even in case of rain.
In case of particularly adverse weather conditions, the walk will be replaced by a theoretical lesson in the Workshop Space.
*This event is among the activities that support the “Amici di Orticolario” Fund.
To learn more about the cultural and charitable goals of the event, visit the section Cultural and social purposes.
To reserve a spot please email eventi@orticolario.it
Bio
Lucia Papponi
Lucia Papponi is an Italian naturalist and ethnobotanist, specialized in the study of wild plants and their food and cultural applications. With a background that integrates botany, edible wild plants, and cultural anthropology, she is recognized as an expert in foraging, edible flowers, and sustainable cuisine. She is a lecturer and researcher in the agro-environmental sector, as well as the author of both scientific and popular publications.
Mariangela Susigan
Born in 1956 in Toulouse, France, Mariangela Susigan is an internationally renowned chef, known for her cuisine that celebrates wild herbs and sustainability. She moved to Italy at the age of three and in 1977 founded Ristorante Gardenia in Caluso, in the Canavese area, where she earned a Michelin star. Her cooking is distinguished by the use of wild herbs that she personally gathers in the surrounding valleys and by her focus on short supply chains and food waste reduction. In 2021, her commitment to an ethical and sustainable culinary approach was further recognized with the Michelin Green Star.