One of the founding elements of the activity of the Italian Palate is represented by close link that is established with the agri-food producers that it selects. It currently has in its basket about seventy companies distributed throughout the national territory. About 300 references, covering different types of product, from wines to extra virgin olive oils, from cheeses to hams, from pasta to confectionery products as well as preserves and spices. The company approach includes a phase of meticulous research and an initial reconnaissance followed by direct and in-depth contact with the producer by the staff, the chef and the sommelier. Often these are family farms. Getting to know people is given great importance, because we want to fully understand which idea of agriculture and breeding moves each company even before going into the numerous technical details.
The possibility of visiting the properties and the level of willingness and openness to show and tell details relating to the production phases make it clear to expert eyes. Often, by capturing the attention that a farmer pays to seemingly tiny details, a lot of information is acquired on general quality standards and the most relevant production processes. The selected productions are always very limited and would not be sufficient in quantity to meet the requests expected in large-scale distribution. On the other hand it is not in the interest of this kind of farmers to enter into such production logics. Their work often has very high levels of craftsmanship with high costs but with excellent quality and limited numbers. Il Palato Italiano is interested in exactly this kind of "artists of the earth" and believes in the idea that they should be preserved as connoisseurs of an Italian heritage of inestimable value.
The relationship that is established with these families and their personal knowledge is also important because among the roles of the Italian Palate there is that of study for each reality the most appropriate narration to offer the maximum possible prominence. In fact, there are numerous occasions and events in which the Italian company of the Bertani family, based in Bolzano, becomes an ambassador of the Italian spirit at the table. Even the prestigious and recent international contexts that have seen it as a protagonist, in the United States as in England, have been an opportunity to highlight the excellence it represents and which - increasingly - arouse interest and curiosity on the part of the numerous food lovers.
