Italo Calvino, an intellectual of great political, civil and cultural commitment, one of the most important Italian storytellers of the second half of the twentieth century, said: "Walking presupposes that with every step the world changes in some of its aspects and also that something changes in us". Marco Olmetti, chef of the Osteria Pepenero restaurant in Portoferraio he was evidently inspired by the great writer for an initiative to be praised which it is hoped will also be imitated by others. If walking is good for the body and also for the mind, because it reconciles reflection, why not also think about improving the environment? We cannot think of eating well without taking care of the area around us. “We can choose the best products – says Marco Olmetti – but if nature is not respected, the result will never live up to expectations”.
And so Olmetti with great civic sense created "Food for Trash: stroll and clean". The initiative consists in inviting customers to collect rubbish (envelopes, bags, bottles, snack paper, cans, shells…) anything that pollutes the environment during their walks. Whoever collects the most plastic and metal during their walks on Elba's paths by 31/5 will receive as prize a couple's dinner with a tasting menu at the Osteria Pepenero.
To participate explains chef Marco Olmetti, who is part of the Vetrina Toscana network, it is necessary post photos while collecting (perhaps also indicating the area so that other people can help complete the work) and some final photos with the bags and their weight in the public Facebook group.
The patron of L'Hosteria del Pepenero had it right away the support of Vetrina Toscana, the project of the Region and Unioncamere Toscana which promotes restaurants, shops and quality products which express the identity of the area and enhances the food and wine culture as a tourist attraction, which will recommend it as a good practice to be extended to the whole network. A simple idea, but for this very reason viral, because it is within everyone's reach.
“I'm trying to give back something of what this splendid nature has given me in recent months - says Marco Olmetti - and I do it by giving away my work for the most industrious. An aware customer is the normal evolution of a citizen who respects his surroundings”.
The initiative is totally in line with the objectives and actions envisaged by the "Toscana Plastic Free" project born thanks to the memorandum of understanding - signed in December 2019 - between the Regional Council and Toscana Promozione Turistica, which aims at increasing information and awareness of both Tuscan citizens and those who choose Tuscany for their holidays, sensitizing them towards active citizenship and eco-conscious and plastic free lifestyles.
Sustainability is one of the elements on which the Tuscany Showcase project is based, which for over 20 years has been promoting the use of typical local products. Those who join the network, both as a consumer and as an actor, can experience not only a taste experience, but understand the value of what is on the plate and also of their choices. Understanding how a product is born, the story behind it, increases respect for the product and for the landscape that allows its growth, also promoting greater environmental awareness and sustainability.
Marco Olmetti has embraced this project to the end. “We are on Elba, a treasure trove of flavors and aromas, of small great artisans, farmers and fishermen” he maintains and with some small artisans “who with their work enhance what the earth can do” has begun has started an important relationship to respect the territory, to safeguard it but above all to reap all its benefits. They are friends, travel companions with whom, respecting the seasons and the breath of nature, you carry out a gastronomic project as an act of faith. Like Sara Esposito who in her dairy farm "Regali Rurali" raises, cultivates and transforms her products according to sustainable processes, mixing innovative techniques with very important agricultural traditions, restoring abandoned places for more than fifty years in respect of the territory. Like Aldo Trambusti who practices agriculture and breeding in a completely natural way, without the aid of compound feed and chemical products, such as fertilizers or poisons, like Alfio Zini and his family who have transformed the their butcher shop in a Portoferraio institution. Meats and cured meats from a family that for generations has made quality its strong point, like Mario Tavanti who started fishing as a boy out of passion and demonstrates how ethical fishing that respects our sea is possible. Or finally, like Biagio who works his garden the old-fashioned way, with passion and dedication that led him to self-produce his own seeds that give vegetables with unique flavors.
"We and our collaborators - writes Marco Olmetti on the website of his Hosteria del Pepe Nero - are waiting for you to be able to offer you a place where you can enjoy our work and daily passion".
All the more reason if the fact of contributing to improving the environment gives you the certainty of being able to taste the true and above all natural flavors of its cuisine.
Osteria Pepenero
Via dell'Amore, 48
57037 Portoferraio, Italy
+39 0565 916240
