The pastry shop of the Bormida Valley follows the landscape. Hazelnuts dominate the Piedmont hills, chestnuts and honey tell the story of the woods, and, as we approach Liguria, almonds appear in soft, fragrant biscuits. Simple ingredients thus become a small atlas of the region.
The experience can begin with a small pastry workshop: toasting and grinding hazelnuts, preparing a dough, and assembling a Bacio di Dama (a type of sweet) allows you to understand how consistency, temperature, and proportions affect the final result. This activity can be offered by artisanal workshops that welcome visitors, subject to availability.
Border sweets
The tasting continues with hazelnut gelato, chestnut cakes, and chestnut cookies, comparing aromas and textures. The point isn't to accumulate samples, but to recognize how the same ingredient can become cream, chopped nuts, flour, or filling.
Towards the Bormida and Giovo valleys, the amaretti of Sassello and Rocchetta feature almonds, egg whites, and sugar, with a soft and aromatic center. In Mallare, however, tradition calls for small fried torcetti, often flavored with lemon or rum.
It's an experience suited to those who want to get their hands dirty and those who prefer a guided tasting. Workshops and visits depend on opening hours and must be organized in advance; however, the storytelling can be tailored to the seasons and available products.
