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Alba gears for White Truffle Fair

The 89th edition of the international food and beverage event will take place from October 5 to November 24 this year in the Italian city of Alba and celebrate the elusive Alba white truffle, a heady condiment that elevates cuisine to the highest level 

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A farmer sniffing the heady Alba white truffle at the International Alba White Truffle Fair

The International Alba White Truffle Fair, an autumn event much awaited throughout the year, attracts a growing number of Italian and foreign enthusiasts to celebrate a territory that is one of the most appreciated food and beverage tourism destinations in the world.

The city of Alba, included in 2017 in the Unesco list of Creative Cities for Gastronomy, has long seen its international prestige grow, and thanks to this important network will continue to work hard to generate a prolific confrontation in order to consolidate and expand its position within world tourism.

The mayor of Alba, Carlo Bo, says, "It is an honour to present the 89th International Alba White Truffle Fair, the most important event organised in the city and the largest generator of tourist flows. The fair is a special showcase that allows to get to know the most precious fruit of our land in a context that is improved every year thanks to the involvement and collaboration between public bodies and the main realities of the territory.”

From October 5 to November 24, the International Alba White Truffle Fair offers a long foray into the world and the charm of the Tuber magnatum Pico, a heady jewel found in the hills of the Unesco World Heritage Site of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, and a symbol of collective experiences that encompass the catering, hospitality and authentic Italian way of life.

A programme of events and insights dedicated to the most demanding gourmands and wine tourists, offers visitors the opportunity to get to know, smell, touch, taste the elements of the material culture of Piedmont through tastings, sensory experiences and workshops.

The great Alba Fair, in its 89th edition this year, is an event capable of satisfying the curiosity of newcomers and the needs of enthusiasts, as well as the connoisseur who seeks the best combination with the great wines of the territory.

The undisputed hero of the show is, of course, the Alba White Truffle, a spontaneous underground mushroom, not cultivable, but born of a healthy land and a symbol of sustainability. From a naturalistic point of view, the Alba White Truffle is at the centre of a complex environmental system, sensitive to alterations and exploitation of the land. For some years now, the fair, together with the National Truffle Study Centre, has been promoting the restoration of natural truffle grounds. Consequently, every paid service, from the entrance ticket to the sensory analysis of the truffle, will include a percentage for the protection of the truffle environment.

The heart of the fair remains the Alba White Truffle World Market, a unique place, inebriated by the 120 perfumes of the Tuber magnatum Pico, where you can buy certified truffles under the watchful eye of the judges of the National Truffle Study Centre, but above all know and meet the trifulau, witnesses of a world made of soil, of research in moonlit nights and of absolute harmony between men and their dogs.

Behind the World Market is the space dedicated to the Alba Truffle Show, the place of choice for show cooking, laboratories, Truffle Sensory Analysis, Wine Tasting Experience. The world of food culture is told during the unmissable Foodies Moments, where the Alba White Truffle meets the author cuisine. Led by the most famous chefs in the area and by some of the most prestigious Italian restaurants, the Foodies Moments are a showcase for the creative gesture that animates the best cuisines in the country in the creation of dishes where the Alba White Truffle is the protagonist.

Davide Oldani, a great restaurateur and ambassador of Italian cuisine in the world, has personally designed a brand new truffle slicer that will be unveiled for the very first time at the Alba Truffle Show.

By involving Limoges, a French town famous throughout the world for its ceramics and, like Alba, part of the network of Unesco Creative Cities, the project featuring big companies in the creation of the "Alba White Truffle Set" comes to completion in 2019. In fact, the prestigious Maison Raynaud, a historic manufacturer of refined table services in Limoges, will create "Pepita", a precious object to best reveal the scent, aroma and freshness of the Alba White Truffle. Also, as part of the collaboration with Unesco Creative Cities the numbered bags in which the certified truffles purchased at the World Market are delivered, will be produced in Fabriano, the Italian district of paper.

The Alba Truffle Show, also in this edition, will be the place where to discover tastes and scents from other Italian regions that will be special guests at the International Alba White Truffle Fair.

The Fair involves the whole city, and in a programme that offers many exciting events, Piazza Risorgimento will be the privileged setting of the Salon of Tastes and Flavours, a permanent exhibition that celebrates the excellence of the Piedmontese and Italian territory with tastings, little bites, treats, workshops, and educational workshops.

The fun place dedicated to children is the pavilion of Alba Truffle Kids: guided by expert educators, children and their families are led into activities, workshops and games through which to discover nature, territory, cuisine, ancient traditions and much more.

The awaited Ultimate Truffle Dinners, two charity dinners in the Sala Beppe Fenoglio, return in this edition to enjoy the best of world cuisine extraordinarily cooked, four-handed, by the local top chefs: the proceeds will go to the Breathe the Truffle project, a crowdfunding campaign to protect the natural environment of the Alba White Truffle. The Ultimate Truffle Dinners are open to the public and to all those wishing to take advantage of this prestigious opportunity to live dreamlike emotions in the Alba area.

New events at the Fair are the Unusual Dinners, moments to discover historical and cultural places of the City of Alba on occasions out of the ordinary, enjoying dinners of excellence cooked by starred chefs from all over Italy.

The Alba White Truffle World Auction, an international event that has reached its 20th edition this year, will pay particular attention to social issues, as always, and the proceeds of the auction will go to charity projects in Italy and around the world.

"Food is one of the most extraordinary expressions of material culture,” says the president of the International Alba White Truffle Fair, Liliana Allena, “and is undoubtedly one of the reasons for travelling to the hills of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato. Our most precious resource, the Alba White Truffle, is the perfect bond between traditional and starred cuisine, an unmissable element and exceptional added value on the dishes of the territory. The Fair we are about to experience will strengthen the synergies of Alba, a Unesco Creative City for Gastronomy, with the network of other world excellences such as Limoges and Fabriano, but it will also be the space in which to enhance the creativity and passion for our truffle, as Davide Oldani will show us. We are followed by an attentive and enthusiastic audience that comes from all over the world and considers our Fair an essential destination for the autumn. We hope that the event in Alba will be an opportunity to show the public its architectural beauty, culture and history in a special way, as will be the case with the Unusual Dinners.”

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