How did food become the guiding force of your life?
Becoming vegetarian was the beginning of my love story with food. I was eager to know more about how to cure myself through food and the relationship between health and nutrition fascinated me a lot. At that time, I just graduated in computer science and statistics and I was doing market research for a company in Milan. However, analysing excel files on a daily basis and developing strategies to make Swiffer sell more sweepers was not making me feel particularly fulfilled. I felt like I was not having any positive impact on the environment and society overall, and the office lifestyle was just not suitable for the person I am.
I felt I needed a radical change and meeting Angelo Naj Oleari, the founder of “Centro Botanico” in Milan was almost like an epiphany. He was a visionary who founded a boutique shop that had a holistic approach focused on plants and natural-organic food. Angelo introduced me to natural medicine and biodynamic agriculture, which was something very innovative for those times. Back then it wasn’t a trend as it is today; now we see many companies using the idea of organic food simply for marketing purposes.
It was not an easy choice to leave my job and start a new career from zero, but it was essential to turn one of my biggest passions into my job and lifelong project. It was almost as a spiritual journey, which allowed me to devote my time and energies to something I perceived as important.
How was Terroir born?
In 2017 I founded Terroir, my lifelong project. It is a retail-bio store that offers a selection of products which are close to my heart, from pasta made with ancient Italian grains to chocolate from Sao Tome and natural wines from Spain. I believe that knowing each producer and having a close relationship with them is essential to ensure the quality of each product. All of these people have amazing stories to tell and inspire me every time. Selling products from a producer that I value is satisfying and makes the product itself more “humane”. These people are somehow “heroes” to me, as they constantly fight against globalisation and monoculture/intensive farming, to preserve traditional artisanal production and ensure next generations will protect this precious heritage.
What I love about my job is that I constantly share my knowledge with others, that like me want to support local communities, their knowledge and traditions which are at risk of extinction. I constantly implement new products by doing research, by attending fairs and through my travels which aim at rediscovering the flavours of traditional cuisines.
To me “Terroir” represents the soil, nature, climate and the human factor, which characterize each of the products I sell and that I aim at ultimately saving.
“Eating and celebrating all those products that run the risk of disappearing in the next decade”.
What is your relationship with restaurants?
Eating a risotto with aromas sprayed on top is an artwork, an unforgettable experience but at the end of the day you are not really tasting any real risotto. What tends to happen in Michelin star restaurants is that there is an excessive focus on culinary techniques for their own.
Sometimes even 18 people are needed to get one dish done and in the end the initial flavour of the raw material itself is lost during the cooking process. I have to admit that sometimes I do enjoy to have such a sensory experience in these kinds of restaurants and try some extravagant combinations. However, overall I value “trattorie” and traditional restaurants even more, where the raw material is at the centre and is celebrated through a thoughtful balance of tradition and innovation.
I believe that eating at home is always my number one choice, as I choose the raw materials myself and combine them with minimum transformation. Something as simple as anchovies on bread can be something extraordinary if both products are made with care, passion and respect towards the environment and people.
What does quality means to you?
Quality can be a subjective concept, however for us each product needs to represent the raw material, which is the beginning of everything. The producer needs to maniacally select it, without an excessive distortion during the transformation process, to ensure the final product is “uncorrupted”. Therefore, patience, deep knowledge and experience are pivotal to guarantee a product is considered of “high quality”.
A product needs primarily to taste good on the palate but the environmental and social consequences are equally important. In each product we sell, you will taste not only the product itself but also the territory, traditions, culture and the work of people.
I find interesting that people in the northern area of Italy spend a lower percentage of their income on food (15%) compared to the south (20%). This has to do with both with an economic and cultural factor: on one hand the total income is usually higher in the north, on the other in the south food and cooking always played an important role. The rest of people’s income is spent on other services such as restaurants and material objects. This ultimately shows how food partially lost its importance in many communities and became only a commodity.
I often notice in my shop that some people are willing to spend $50 for a face cream and not 6$ for a box of eggs coming from a non-intensive and sustainable farm. The issue is that many people don’t perceive the difference between products that have been cultivated with care, a low-environmental impact and mass produced one that can be found in every supermarket. When a product has a low price, it means that there are other hidden costs, which we’ll have to face and pay in the future. From a health perspective, everything we eat has an impact on our body and our wellbeing (medicines, doctors). Both the environment and many communities suffer as well; if we don’t support them by buying their products, all the knowledge and traditions will disappear soon!
How did Covid-19 have an impact on Terroir?
We definitely had more costumers during the pandemic, as everyone’s life (except for mine) slowed down. During such a time doing groceries was the only way to get out of your apartment. Many people (especially young ones) from this neighbourhood preferred coming to Terroir compared to going to big supermarkets, as they felt more safe, the environment was more relaxed and you could have a chat, exchanging ideas and knowledge while buying food.
I am very glad to notice that now Terroir’s clientele is becoming younger and especially foreigners that live in Milan and that would usually live very “fast lives” started realising how satisfying it can be to make your own food. Many told me that rediscovering a “slow life” allowed them to cure themselves through food and noticed how their body reacted to these changes.
Have you ever thought about opening an online shop?
I believe that selling online would be really difficult and also not suitable for the kind of shop we are, as we continuously have different products and our philosophy includes a direct relationship with the customer as well. Coming to Terroir is a bodily experience, as we want to know our customers and understand their taste to satisfy them and keep them updated with new interesting products. This mind-set is completely opposite to what our society is used to. But we believe relationships are the fulcra of Terroir.