Giovianni Bianchi, owner of the famed prosciutto producer Pio Tosini of Parma, Italy is coming to Portland and will be slicing and serving his Parma ham (Prosciutto di Parma) at three locations this week.
Thursday, March 24 will find Giovanni at Middle Street Italian eatery Piccolo. Piccolo will be serving a five-course tasting menu with wine and beer from Parma’s Emilia-Romagna region. For reservations and more information, visit http://piccolomaine.com
Friday March 25, 7-10 p.m. Rocking Prosciutto at UFF—music and food collide! Giovanni will be slicing tastes of this magnificent ham, aged in traditional curing cellars for 500 days. Not only does Giovanni make great prosciutto but he is also the front man for a punk/blues band Dead Horse Bones. Listen to Giovanni play, while tasting Pio Tosini Prosciutto di Parma accompanied by bites of Parmigiano Reggiano and Spanish Finca Pascualete cheeses, and Potter’s Crackers. Free to the public.
Capping off the weekend, on Saturday March 26, are two happenings. First is Prosciutto Palooza at Rosemont 559 Brighton Avenue. For dinner, Pio Tosini’s exceptional Parma ham will be paired with seasonal, locally sourced produce and meats. And of course, Rosemont will be pouring Italian wines to accompany the meal. For reservations and more information, visit http://rosemontmarket.com
Later that evening at Bramhall on Congress Street, you’ll find Giovanni exchanging his slicer for a guitar creating a different Italy meets Maine experience.
Pio Tosini Industria Prosciutti S.p.A. was founded in 1905 in Langhirano (Parma), Italy, by Pio’s father, Ferrante Tosini. Today, the company continues to be 100 percent family owned and operated, led by Nicola Ghersetich and Giovanni Bianchi, Pio Tosini’s grandsons. Nicola and Giovanni are the fourth generation to carry on the Tosini family traditions in curing pork meats. As in past eras, it is the human hand that makes the magic of Pio Tosini’s prosciutto di parma. Even with the aid of modern technology, at Pio Tosini, the human hand does the work every step of the way: trimming, salting, sugnatura (covering the surface with softened lard and salt) and the deboning—on demand—the final product.
Each ham is branded with the Tre Giande (three acorns) trademark harkening to ancient times when acorns were a favorite foraged food of pigs. Over the centuries, Italians have penned in their pigs due to the small size of the plots of land. But these pigs were, and Pio Tosini pigs are today, fed an ingredient crucial to prosciutto di parma—whey discarded from the production of the region’s Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
To meet Giovanni by video, visit https://vimeo.com/130817589
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Rogers Collection imports and distributes artisan products of distinctive quality created by authentic food-crafters from Europe, the UK, North and South Africa, and the Middle East. Thanks to Rogers Collection and their dedication to family-run and traditional products, these extraordinary ingredients are now being used in restaurants and home kitchens across America. Contact Carrie Davenport at 207.828.2000; carrie@therogerscollection.com; visit therogerscollection.com.
Source: Rogers Collection