Visiting Appenino Food

I’m man enough to admit that sometimes I walk around in little plastic blue bootees.  Hey, they may not be the most stylish footwear on the planet, but when you’re going to the source you sometimes have to eschew fashion for food safety.

On a recent food scouting trip to Italy I got a chance to tour Appenino Food, producers of fine all natural products like our selezione truffle oils, truffle salt, and truffle butter.

Luigi, the head of the company, showed us around.  The man knows quality produce when he sees it, and he should – he worked his way up from selling foraged edibles at a farmers market to this beautiful modern facility.  He clearly hasn’t lost sight of what matters along the way.

Not only was the place spotless but stylish too – check out this handle for their walk-in cooler.  His cooler had a big basket of fresh white truffles for local restaurants, and his freezer was packed with the best frozen porcinis I’ve ever seen.

When we visited, his employees were hand-packing artichokehearts in sunflower seed oil with vinegar.  The artichokes come right into the factory from the field, and every step from that point on, until the jars are closed, is done by hand to preserve quality.

Take a look.  They’re absolutely gorgeous.

This hands-on method allows an impressive level of quality control – the employees scrutinize the artichokes every step of the way.  If they don’t pass muster they get chucked right there.

Sure, it’s a factory, but Luigi’s found a way to balance safety and efficiency with maintaining top quality.  I’m proud to sell his products.