In the
spring of 2011 I moved from my hometown Gouda in the Netherlands to a beautiful
hilltop town in the Langhe area of Piemonte, Northern Italy. Surrounded by vineyards
and hazelnut orchards I was going to study Food Culture and Communications and
I would become an expert in eco-gastronomy. Unfortunately things did not turn
out to be what I had expected, and for various reasons I decided to stop my
study programme. Making this decision was not easy, but luckily I was not alone
in my hilltop town. The Drover, my boyfriend, private chef, baker and
limoncello maker, came all the way from Australia to experience the Italian
food adventure with me. He showed me that studying and learning is not something
that you can only do in schools and universities: self-education could be the
most interesting path to follow.
“How do
you know all this?” is a question I have asked the Drover very often, when he
was telling me another story or when he was sharing another bit of his
knowledge with me.
