Turin - the first vegetarian city in Italy?

A loud hum comes from the kitchen of the luxury Italian restaurant Villa Somis in the hills outside Turin. Maybe it's a coffee machine or a prosciutto slicer. But when chef Antonio Chiodi Latini comes out, he's holding two glasses of light green "plant extract," the Guardian reports. Chiodi Latini, 56, was known locally three years ago for his intricately beautiful dishes, such as pasta with seafood and edible flowers or perfect slices of beef cut into cylinders. The current menu at his new restaurant Chiodi Latini New Food is no less impressive, but in it no animal products of any kind. Latini opened the new restaurant on the top floor of an elegant villa this summer after becoming a vegetarian himself three years ago for health reasons. "But people want to try new things and eat delicious food in the evening that makes them feel good about their body and soul." Turin is known for cars, football, the Winter Olympics and now vegetarianism, after new mayor Chiara Appendino announced plans to make the city Italy's first "vegetarian city" earlier this year. Traditional butchers have voiced their dismay at the proposals, which include introducing a meat-free day a week and teaching schoolchildren about ecology and animal health. "There are currently over 30 restaurants and shops in Turin that offer vegan and vegetarian food, which, given the size of the city, is the largest possible number in Italy," says Stefania Giannuzzi, deputy mayor and author of the initiative.

"Torino has always been very developed in this respect," says Claudio Viano, who opened the city's first vegetarian restaurant Mezzaluna with his partner Daniele 20 years ago. "Torino and maybe Milan are now the best places in Italy for vegan food,” he says. The city's chefs have created creative adaptations of classic Italian dishes. The mushroom and garlic lasagna at the student cafe Il Gusto di Carmilla is available without the traditional white sauce. Even the milk-free gelato, replaced with rice milk, at the Mondello ice cream shop is surprisingly delicious. Giannuzzi does not want to clash with the city's meat producers and farmers' associations, which organized a barbecue in May to protest declining sales and fear mongering over the health risks of meat. She touts the environmental benefits of vegetarianism, citing UN guidelines in the Paris Climate Agreement that recommend reducing meat consumption. And do restaurants in Turin offer vegetarian pizza? Yes, somewhat. Every evening, young people gather to drink and eat at one of the newest vegan restaurants in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, Coox. It offers vegetarian pan-fried pizza with "veg mozzarella" and meatless sausage. Vegan cheese is not particularly tasty anywhere in the world, but the pizza itself has a special, melt-in-your-mouth taste that can only be found in Italy. Vegetarians in Turin not only have the support of the mayor, they also have Italian know-how. And this combination is enough for the success of the controversial project to turn it into a "vegetarian city".

Source: profit

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