THE POLLENZO FOOD LAB

PUSHING ON THE PULSING HEART OF APPLIED GASTRONOMY: INTERVIEW WITH CAROL PROVIGNA (Culinary Scientist and Coordinator), NAHUEL BURACCO (Culinary Scientist and Co-Coordinator), MATTEO BIGI (Culinary Scientist and Researcher)

The Pollenzo Food Lab-whose scientific head is Professor Gabriella Morini-is one of the most valuable resources that the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo possesses. Here students can see how purely theoretical scientific concepts find practical explicitness through lectures, focus groups and workshops.

In this interview with the Food Lab team, which took place during a Menù Design class for “Applied Gastronomy Culinary Arts” master’s students, we will delve into what the role of this teaching body is and how important is the support it provides from an educational and experimental point of view.

What is the Pollenzo Food Lab and when did it come into being?

The Pollenzo Food Lab at the University of Gastronomic Sciences is a Living Lab dedicated to the study and applied research of gastronomic transformations. Here, we do training, academic research and consulting for companies in the food sector.

The laboratory spaces are constructed as anagora in which knowledge is exchanged horizontally and include a teaching room for theoretical lectures, a teaching kitchen for practical exercises and a professional kitchen for experimental use equipped with advanced technology.

Founded in 2014, as a meeting point between culinary theories and practices thanks to the synergy between University faculty and culinary professionals. In the laboratory spaces for the first few years, the then master’s degree program in “Popular Italian Quality Cuisine” took place, which was the first to be marked by the theoretical sciences covered in the bachelor’s degree program applied to practice. Over time, then, it evolved into a multidisciplinary hub of experimentation and a multifunctional collector of experiences and contributions, thus becoming a promoter of a network of professionals working for sustainability and sovereignty in food processing.

What are the activities that take place here and what are the characteristics of your teaching?

The main activities we focus on are education and training, aimed at imparting complex knowledge to gastronomes and professionals that can support and stimulate virtuous changes. The teachings of the current educational offerings are:

• Practical exercises of the teachings of Molecular and Taste Sciences, Gastronomic Design Sciences, Learning to Like and Gastronomic Criticality in the Bachelor of Science in Gastronomic Sciences and Cultures pathway;
• Practical exercises of the teachings of Food Science and Technology and Systemic Design for Circular Economy in the Master’s degree program in Food Innovation and Management;
• Farm to Table Workshops planned in the Master of Gastronomy: World Food Culture and Mobility course;
• Development and curation of the entire Master of Culinary Arts for Innovation curriculum.

Our method here at the Food Lab follows a teaching model based onactive and experientiallearning whose goal is the complete understanding of gastronomic processes. Such a systemic approach, grounded in the disciplines of gastronomic sciences, cultural biodiversity, and social and environmental responsibility, ensures that students acquire a method that enables them to be free to develop personal and creative paths for the professional future.

In addition, here we provide practical and theoretical support for students who have dissertation projects related to the study of recipes, transformation processes, menu development, and restaurant systems.

We also mentioned earlier about the research and development aspect of you, what does it consist of?

Research activity focuses on the development and definition of food systems in which conscious enjoyment, nutritional quality, and social and environmental sustainability converge. In collaboration with other Italian and foreign universities and research institutions, we work on projects dedicated to the dissemination of a correct dietary style that is sustainable for humans and the planet, focusing largely on the educational implications on the younger segments of society.

The areas are currently oriented toward:

• Circular Economy Applied to Food – models for sustainability in transformation; criticizing and optimizing processes and relationships for waste reduction and their re-purposing.
• One Health and sustainable diet – food systems, recipes and menus in which pleasure, nutritional functionality, seasonality, biodiversity and gastronomic identities converge.
• Food literacy and the study of cooking as a tool for education-food and taste education in school and preschool age and multidisciplinary educational models for educational communities but also in family and school lunch settings.
• Social inclusion – educational and outreach formats aimed at using cooking as a tool for inclusion and empowerment.

Instead, research projects funded by competitive calls that have involved and involve Pollenzo Food Lab staff are:

• SF4C (SchoolFood4Change).
• FUSILLI (Fostering the Urban food System Transformation through Innovative Living Labs Implementation)
• EIT Food Solutions (Develop Tastes 2023 and EcoBite Delights 2024)

What about the consultancy you provide to companies, how is the Lab’s role articulated?

Working closely with corporate entities and partner organizations of the University, we are involved in the development of pathways and consulting projects aimed at strategic players in the food sector. Collaboration and support for companies in the culinary industry also takes the form of applied research and consulting projects aimed at the development of innovative systemic solutions for the dissemination of healthy lifestyles and the reduction of food waste and upcycling of raw materials, with particular reference to:

• innovation and implementation of production processes (introduction and enhancement of new products/ingredients within the production process; selection of raw materials; definition and modeling of the production process for obtaining the shared sensory and nutritional result; study, testing and implementation of processing technologies);
• Product development (testing and focus groups; creative support; new product development and related recipe development)
• Menu development and recipe study (revision and implementation of existing recipes; development of menus and gastronomic proposals-with special reference to mass catering, modeling of systems for production; definition of recipes for specific processing/marketing).
• development of training models

Last question, let’s close with a curiosity: What is your mantra, if you have one?

We have several actually, but the most popular one remains: Bitter is Better, a maxim from Professor Morini that comes from her Taste Science classes. A quote so iconic that it is printed on t-shirts for students in the Master of Applied Gastronomy program, from next year’s Master in Culinary Arts For Innovation.