September 2017
2272 Oak Bay Avenue Victoria, BC 250-592-4080 www.ottaviovictoria.com
September 2017 NEWSLETTER ISSUE 83
Cheese Hospitality in Italy This July, Monica, Isabella and I were lucky enough to stop and visit a couple of our favourite cheese producers in northern Italy. ! ! The first, the cooperative Il Forteto, produces sheeps milk cheeses in the Mugello area of Tuscany. Many of our customers will be familiar with the Pecorino Toscano (the mild and melty Fresco younger version & Stagionato, the firm, aged stronger version) and Tartufo (jammed with real truffle pieces with a strong truffle flavour). ! ! Il Forteto is an amazing place which sources all of its sheep’s milk from farmer partners only in the Mugello region. The cooperative also raises its own Chianina beef, grows its own feed, grows, mills and malts its own grain, has a partner make beer with its malted grains, bakes its own bread, produces its own olive oil and vinegar….you get the idea! They are the full package. And yes, we did have to eat copious amounts of all the above items after our tours of the cheese caves, animal facilities, bakery etc. We loved Il Forteto cheeses before, but we really love them now. Ask for a taste at the cheese counter.! ! ! After sleeping off the food coma from Il Forteto, ! we soldiered on to Quattro Portoni buffalo farm ! and caseificio near Bergamo. The gracious Gritti ! family, who we had met in a cheese store doing a ! demo in NYC, invited us to visit and visit we did. ! We donned the traditional sanitary mesh head ! and foot gear and gown and dove into the fridges. ! ! ! ! ! We visited the caves, watched the cheeses ! soaking in beer, scratched the heads of days old ! buffalo and got a good looking over by the ! friendly and curious buffalo mamas. Almost all ! buffalo milk in Italy is made into ! mozzarella….amazing, but standard to Italy. At ! Quattro Portoni, they take the very rich buffalo ! milk and make a variety of cheeses with it ! including: surface ripened “brie styled” Casatica ! ! (Isabella’s favourite cheese since the taste in ! New York); Quadrello (Taleggio-style washed rind ! with buffalo milk), a rich, stanky, salty champion, ! as well as caciocavallo and blue cheeses. These ! are all extremely unique and extremely delicious. ! ! ! ! ! It’s really a labour of love to produce cheese from the unique buffalo, especially given that it produces only 1/6th of the volume of milk that a North American Holstein does. We thank these small producers for doing things the right way and the slow way to produce great quality cheeses for Ottavio’s case.!
September 2017
2272 Oak Bay Avenue Victoria, BC 250-592-4080 www.ottaviovictoria.com
Ottavio
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 83
Turns 20!!!
We are so fortunate to be able to celebrate this anniversary of our little shop in Oak Bay Village. You, our customers, have been so supportive to us and our staff for the past two decades. Twenty years is a long time in the food industry these days as we compete with overpowered grocery conglomerates who water down what small bakeries and delicatessens do, and market it to the masses. We have stuck to our principles of high quality handmade fresh goods, small production, family produced pantry goods and friendly, efficient staff and you have stayed with us and supported us all.! Please come by on Saturday, September 23rd as we roast some lamb, scoop some gelato, pour some wine, cut some cheese, play some music and slice some prosciutto. We’d love to celebrate with you from 11-3 on that day!! !
O#avio ♥
Years ago, on a trip to Sicily, we were fortunate enough to have a friend working at Planeta and were treated to their extraordinary olive oil on a daily basis. ︎ We carry their extra-virgin olive oil blend of Nocellara del Belice, Biancolilla, and Cerasuola olives, manually picked and cold pressed. This oil is brilliant green, grassy, nu#y, and herby. It is a fruity and intense oil that pairs well with vegetables, grilled meats and fish, in soups and drizzled on top of a fresh cheese. Try it in a pesto or mixed into a vinaigre#e. Absolutely delicious!
New & Notable on Our Shelves Plaza del Sol Olives: Anchovy or Lemon stuffed, tinned and shelf-stable, these replace the O&O Spanish stuffed olives that are no longer available to us but are just as tasty! Add them to your next appetizer platter for a little zing. Gocce Argenti Balsamic Vinegars: made without added preservatives or colouring agents and available in three varieties: 2 Argenti: Dry, fruity, light. Ideal on mixed salads, cooked vegetables, grilled white and red meats, omelettes, cheese, poached or grilled fish, fruit salads. 3 Argenti: Smooth, balanced, good acidity. Perfect for mixed salads, cooked vegetables, grilled white and red meats, omelettes, cheeses, poached or grilled fish & seafood, fruit salads, yogurt and ice cream. 4 Argenti: Dry, aromatic, flavor of cooked grapes. Excellent on cooked and grilled vegetables, salmon, pizza, rice, roasted or grilled fish, cheese, fruit salads, yogurt and vanilla ice cream.