Varese, City of Cabbage: the festival presents itself in Castronno

Context

TL;DR

• On October 15, the project will be presented in Castronno
• Materia hosts culture and a cabbage-themed dinner
• The festival showcases Varese's brassicas
• Growers, restaurateurs and florists involved

Key facts

• Event → Varese città del Cavolo
• Date → Thursday 15 October
• Location → Materia Spazio Libero, Castronno
• Format → cultural discussion and dinner in the agora
• Theme → Varese brassicas

On Thursday 15 October, Materia Spazio Libero in Castronno will host the presentation of Varese città del Cavolo, the first festival of Varese brassicas. The evening has been conceived as a special event for the hub: in addition to the cultural discussion, it includes a themed dinner in the agora.

The initiative stems from a very common presence in the fields and vegetable gardens of the Varese area. Cabbage, in its various forms, is everywhere: from head cabbage to black cabbage, including savoy cabbage and pak choi, Chinese cabbage. This very widespread presence, often observed without being recognized, led Franca Formenti to envision a festival dedicated to the area's brassicas.

The project also plays on the double meaning of the word cavolo, but the evening in Castronno presents it as a serious effort to promote the produce. The point is not merely to talk about a vegetable: it is to highlight what is already grown, cooked and served in the Varese area. For this reason, alongside the cultural segment, the format includes the convivial moment of dinner.

A presentation dedicated to the local supply chain

The first edition puts growers, restaurateurs and florists at the centre, with the aim of drawing attention to vegetable gardens, flowers and activities connected to food. The evening at Materia serves to present the project and connect the discussion of brassicas with their tangible presence in fields and menus.

It is not presented as a simple celebration of cabbage. The deliberately ironic name attracts attention, while the content concerns cultivation, food and dining, areas that will be addressed with various guests. The chosen format therefore combines the discussion with a dinner prepared around the initiative's theme.

For the Castronno hub, this is also a new development in its event programming, because the evening combines the cultural segment with a convivial moment in the agora. It will be the festival's most cultural moment, while the other events and participating activities are listed on the initiative's official website.

Operational details

From observing the fields to expert verification

For two years Franca Formenti observed gardens and countryside in the Varese area, finding cabbages, savoy cabbages, black cabbage and numerous other species throughout the area. Her intuition was strengthened when a German association chose cabbage as “vegetable of the year”.

From there, discussions with nursery growers and farmers began. Formenti found fields full of brassicas and proposed a festival to highlight what she called a hidden excellence. According to the creator's account, cultivation already exists, but it is not talked about enough.

Varese is at the forefront, and no one talks about it.

The first expert brought in was agronomist Luciano Riva. Formenti showed him the project to verify its validity and received a positive assessment. Riva also sent her an in-depth text, published on the festival's official website. His assessment confirmed Varese's suitability for growing brassicas and supported the launch of the initiative.

The expertise brought together at Materia

Luciano Riva, agronomist and director of the magazine Habitat Ambiente, will be one of the main participants in the event, together with Rolando Saccucci, fiduciary of Slow Food's Varese chapter, and Dr. Marta Maugeri, a medical nutritionist.

The agricultural side will be represented by Luisa Broggini and Camilla Crugnola of OrtoBroggini. The restaurant sector, meanwhile, will be represented by Gianni Malnati and Elena Spasciani from the pizzeria Così com'è, which is taking part in the initiative. The mix of guests brings together at the same event the perspectives of agronomy and nutrition, agricultural production, and culinary experience.

According to Formenti, the purpose of the program is to show that this is not merely a festival devoted to cabbage. The evening aims to acknowledge the work already being done in Varese around brassicas, from field to table, with the contribution of those who grow them, study them, explore their benefits, or include them in their own menus.

Key points

Events after the presentation

The evening of October 15 will be the most cultural moment, but the festival will continue with other activities listed on the official website. Various businesses have joined, from farm stays to restaurants and growers, offering cabbage-based dishes on their menus.

The calendar also includes an event scheduled for October 28 at Zona Franca. It is an aperitif dinner with a nutritionist, designed to explore the beneficial effects of cabbage. The initiative thus takes the subject beyond cultivation alone and connects it to food, with a meeting led by Dr. Marta Maugeri.

A fermentation workshop is also scheduled between November 1 and 2. The technique is described as one of the most important methods for preserving cabbages and represents another way to address the subject of brassicas, after the cultural evening and the offerings of participating establishments.

The options for the Castronno evening

Two participation options are available for the event at Materia. You can book the full evening, with dinner in the agora, or just the cultural portion. The source provides a link for choosing either option and confirming your place.

The presentation also marks Franca Formenti's first public appearance as Studio Food Power, the studio founded with the aim of communicating food differently. Formenti explained that she has been involved in activism and art since 2007 and has noticed that, in the world of communication, languages already used twenty years ago are still being employed.

For her, Materia's invitation represents validation of the new studio. The evening, together with the subsequent events, thus becomes the first public journey of a project that starts with the cabbages found in the fields of Varesotto and brings them into meetings, menus, nutrition and preservation techniques.

Source: varesenews.it