FontinaMI - From the mountain pastures of the Aosta Valley to the restaurants of Milan

Monday 21 to Sunday 27 February 2022 the best wheels of Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio land in Milan for “FontinaMI”promotion initiative conceived by the Consortium of Producers for the Protection of Fontina DOP, to show the public how a cheese with a long tradition such as Fontina can be interpreted in an innovative way to create original, gourmet creations.

7 renowned Milanese chefs, some of them starred, will offer on the menu for 7 days one or more new dishes created for the occasion using the best forms of Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio produced this year and rewarded with the “Modon d'Or 2021”, awarded on 6 December at the Fortress of Bard. Customers who choose those dishes will receive a complimentary chef's amuse-bouche together with a taste of pure Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio.

Here are dishes created by the chefs that will be on the menu during the week of the initiative:

Below are the participating restaurants:

Chef Claudio Sadler (1 Michelin star)

Pizza of cardoons and cotechino with mousse of Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio fondue, red onion powder

CHIC'N QUICK
Via Ascanio Sforza 77 (Navigli area)
Tel. 02 8950 3222

Chef Francesco Passalacqua
Millefoglie of cotechino and Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio cheese with turnip tops
CHUNK
Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 55 (Navigli area)
Tel. 02 8419 4720

Chef Andrea Sconfienza
- “Sea meets mountain”: Black garlic Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio cheese fondue with Mazara prawns with white sesame and liquorice powder
- Risotto cooked in hay broth with donkey grass and fried Fontina AOC leaf
- “Fassona goes to the mountains”: Tartare of Fassona, fondue of Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio, orange-scented
CIZ WINE CELLAR AND KITCHEN
Viale Premuda, 44 (Risorgimento area)
Tel. 02 2318 9915

Chef Daniel Canzian
Crispy Trevisana pearl puff pastry and melting Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio cheese
DANIEL CANZIAN RESTAURANT
Via Castelfidardo corner Via San Marco (Brera area)
Tel. 02 6379 3837

Chef Daniel Canzian
Pumpkin pie, Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio cheese fondue and amaretti biscuits
THE POWER STATION - DANIEL CANZIAN
Via Gian Carlo Castelbarco, 27 (Bocconi area)
Tel. 340 4852861

Chef Tommaso Arrigoni (1 Michelin Star)
Cotechino del Sergio Motta, hazelnut and potato puree, puffed Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio milk and truffle powder
INNOCENT ESCAPES
Via Privata della Bindellina (Certosa area)
Tel. 02 3300 1882 

Chef Matteo Scibilia
Gourmand cubes of Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio cheese with black truffle shavings and pickled Lombard green “tighe” chillies”
REPUBLIC SQUARE
Via Aldo Manuzio, 11 (Repubblica area)
Tel. 02 6269 5105

Chef Roberto Tornari
-Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio cheese in Saracen carriage with herbs and savoy cabbage with garlic and sage
-Black cabbage risotto with crispy bacon and fondant of Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio cheese
-Millefoglie of tongue cooked at low temperature, pumpkin, Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio cheese and horseradish sauce
MILAN HEAD
Via Abbadesse, 19 (Sondrio area)
Tel. 02 403 5907

For a whole week in various areas of the Lombard capital, “FontinaMI” will bring all the sweetness of Fontina DOP in its different expressions of texture, flavour, aroma and noble qualities. The Parfeun, the combination of aromas imparted to the milk by the flowers and mountain herbs of the Fontina PDO d'Alpeggio will be enhanced by original combinations and the innovative, contemporary cuisine of the participating chefs.

“Everyone knows Fontina, the eighth most important cow's milk cheese among Italian PDO cheeses, but perhaps not everyone knows that it is a mountain product with unique characteristics made exclusively in Valle d'Aosta. - affirms Andrea Barmaz, President of the Fontina PDO Producers and Protection Consortium -. “We wanted to make Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio, known outside the region, known as the highest quality dairy product in Europe, enhancing it thanks to the creativity of great chefs who interpret it each in their own way. This particular type of Fontina has a unique taste and aroma, which even differs from shape to shape. This is because in summer our cows, of the indigenous Aosta Valley breed, move to alpine pastures between 1700 and 2700 metres where they graze freely in meadows rich in flowers and essences that change according to altitude. Today consumers are increasingly attentive to the provenance, quality and sustainability of the products and it is therefore the right time to spread what have always been our values, first and foremost the indissoluble link between Fontina PDO and its production territory”.

The event, in its first edition, will also live on social thanks to the hashtag #fcontinami with which the protagonists and the public can share photos and stories

To take part in the “FontinaMI” event, you must book your table by contacting the participating restaurants directly. The cost of the dishes made is at the discretion of the restaurateurs and varies according to the restaurant chosen.

For the selection of participating restaurants we thank “I can't cook but...” by Susanna Amerigo.

The MODON D'OR

The prestigious award “Modon d'Or 2021“was awarded on 6 December at the Fortress of Bard. It rewards the best wheels of Fontina DOP d'Alpeggio each year and is organised by the Assessorato Agriculture and Natural Resources of the Autonomous Region of Valle d'Aosta in collaboration with the Chambre Valdôtaine and the technical support of the Consortium of Producers for the Protection of Fontina DOP and the Milk and Fontina Producers' Cooperative.

Here are the winning shapes:

• YEUILLA ATTILIO
  Alpeggio Maisonette - Avise - faggera 173
• AGRICULTURAL FARM. PRA D'ARC
  Alpine pasture Pra d'Arc - Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses - beam 280
• FRÈRES BÉTHAZ of FRACHEY ROSELLA
  Alpine pasture Vieille - Valgrisenche - fascera 124
• BREDY FRANCESCO
  Alpine pasture Pleytau-Berovard - Ollomont - fascera 243 
• BRUNET DAVID
  Grand Grimod alpine pasture - Gressan - fascera 449
• CHATELAIR SOC. AGR.
  Alpeggio Rossa - Doues - fascera 446
• FOGNIER ELIO
  Romperein Alpine pasture of Aymavilles
• MA DI POMAT CLAUDIO & C. S.S.
  Pointier alpine pasture - Etroubles - faggot 210
• AGR. DELLIOD S.S. of ROLLANDOZ and DZIEDZIC
  Chanteré alpine pasture - Rhêmes-Notre-Dame - bundle 133
• AGR. FRÈRES DIÉMOZ S.S.
  Alpine pasture Lo Baou - Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses - beam 35

For the first time in the history of the Modon d'Or competition, the winning moulds will also be on sale outside the borders of the Aosta Valley at the Taste Boutiques selected throughout Italy by the theGolosario 2022.