Skiing with Taste: A Culinary Journey of Epic Proportions!
Welcome, dear readers, to the 15th birthday bash of Skiing with Taste! Picture this: Snowflakes dancing, chefs twirling spatulas like they’re auditioning for Dancing with the Stars, and enough culinary creativity to make even Gordon Ramsay blush. This year’s theme? Liveliness! Yes, that’s right, folks. Forget the winter blues; we’re here to rediscover vibrancy – like an over-caffeinated barista on a Monday morning!
The Sweet Taste of Charity
This year, amid all the fun, there’s a harmonious side hustle: a charity initiative linked to the “The best possible life” Foundation. That’s right, skiers can chow down while helping less fortunate children. Who knew shredding slopes and gourmet bites could feel so good, eh?
The Main Course: An Array of Stars!
Who are the culinary wizards, you ask? Well, we’ve got a Michelin-studded lineup that’ll have your taste buds doing backflips!
- Simone Cantafio – He’s got one star and enough charisma to steal your dessert right in front of you!
- Massimiliano Alajmo – The youngest chef to snag three Michelin stars at 28; he’s practically a culinary prodigy!
- Valeria Piccini – A self-taught genius bringing a revolution to Italian cuisine, one luscious dish at a time!
- Giuseppe Guida – Hailing from Vico Equense, his traditional recipes are the warm hugs we all need when it’s cold outside.
- Simone Padoan – Turning pizza from the poor man’s meal to high-cuisine glory! How’s that for a glow-up?
The Gastronomic Adventures Await!
Gourmet Skisafari
On December 14th, gear up for a ski trip that promises to satisfy your appetite and your Instagram feed! Glide from hut to hut while indulging in masterpieces from the likes of Massimiliano Alajmo and others. Trust me; you’ll be updating your ‘foodie’ credentials faster than you can say “Where’s the après-ski cocktail?”
Aperitif on Ice
Ice skating on a frozen lake while sipping curated wines served by sommeliers on skates? Talk about class! Join this chic endeavor on January 30th, where the Dolomites become your frigid fairytale setting. Don’t forget your thermal wear – you wouldn’t want to chill more than necessary!
Sommelier on the Track
Skiing combined with wine tasting, what a marriage made in heaven! Join our sommelier-meets-powder experience from December to April, where you can bomb down slopes and sip on delicious local wines. Who needs a designated driver when the slopes are your personal appraiser of fine tastes? Just kidding, please ski responsibly!
Not Just About Skiing!
People, let’s talk about Ladin cuisine. From March 16-23, you’ll embark on a ski tour honoring this gastronomic gem. Taste traditional dishes and pair them with Alto Adige wines as you ski from hut to hut, honoring the age-old recipes made with love – and probably a sprinkling of snow for authenticity!
And let’s not forget about early risers grabbing breakfast among stunning peaks before everyone else jumps on the ski lift. Because really, who doesn’t want to be “that person” who brags about skiing at dawn?
Join the Movement!
Skiing with Taste isn’t just about food and skiing – it’s a celebration of life, compassion, and good, hearty fun! So, gear up, grab your forks, and head to Alta Badia. Celebrate liveliness by tasting, skiing, and perhaps leaving some guilt behind. Remember: calories don’t count when you’re having fun… right?
Make Your Reservations!
For all the details and to reserve your spots for these culinary journeys, visit www.altabadia.org. Hurry, don’t be left without a spoon – or a ski pass!
The theme chosen to celebrate the 15th birthday of Sciare con gusto, an initiative born in 2009 from an idea by chef Norbert Niederkofler, is liveliness. It is an invitation to rediscover the vitality and positive energy of people, celebrating the harmony between skiing and good food. The dishes will be colorful and the creations will follow the imagination of the individual chefs, to transform each recipe into an explosion of energy, a touch of liveliness to overcome the difficulties we are faced with on a daily basis.
And it is precisely to help those who are less fortunate that this year too, Skiing with taste is linked to a charity project to support the “The best possible life” Foundation.
And between great chefs who will create their dishes, starting from these concepts, and an ever new and stimulating idea of hospitality, Skiing with taste wants to be a meeting point dedicated to goodness, beauty and being together. The concept of the initiative remains unchanged: nine starred chefs will each be paired with a refuge on the slopes of Alta Badia, for which they will create a recipe that will be offered to skiers throughout the winter season.
Doing the honors will be Simone Cantafio, (La Stüa de Michil Restaurant c/o Hotel La Perla, Corvara, 1 Michelin star), who offers tradition and innovation in his cuisine, with the aim of making Italian products known to the world, telling the flavors of the territory. Also called again is Massimiliano Alajmo (Ristorante Le Calandre, Rubano, 3 Michelin stars), who in 2002, at just 28 years old, was the youngest chef in the world to obtain three Michelin stars.
The roundup of chefs continues with Valeria Piccini (Ristorante Da Caino, Montemerano, 2 Michelin stars). Born in Grosseto, Valeria Piccini became a chef out of passion. Studying self-taught, he revolutionizes the gastronomic proposal with patience, talent and passion, leaving an indelible mark on contemporary Italian cuisine. Viviana Varese (Passalacqua Restaurant, Como, 1 Michelin star) instead grew up in the family restaurant, before opening her own restaurant at 25 years old.
In 2010 she was named Female Chef of the Year, thanks to her cuisine which is a harmony of Mediterranean tradition and innovation that combines high quality and creativity in an environment led by an all-female staff. Giuseppe Guida opens his restaurant L’Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa (1 Michelin star), in the house where he was born in Vico Equense. Its cuisine, rooted in popular tradition, stands out for excellent raw materials and contemporary preparations. For Cristian Fagone (Ristorante Impronte, Bergamo, 1 Michelin star) cooking is his therapy. Through it he explores his deepest self and defines who he is. Furthermore, cooking is a means to express one’s emotionality and create connection with others.
Pier Giorgio Parini is a chef from Romagna, who boasts two years of experience in Massimiliano Alajmo’s brigade. Pier Giorgio is a searching chef. His is a secular cuisine, free and without prejudice. Giancarlo Morelli (Pomiroeu Restaurant, Seregno), a lover of snow and Alta Badia, has dedicated his life to cooking and to artistic and cultural discovery, first through training trips around the world, then in a personal growth journey in his restaurant Pomiroeu . Simone Padoan (Ristorante I Tigli, San Bonifacio), renowned for having transformed pizza from a poor dish to a culinary ritual, also accepted the invitation to participate in Sciare con gusto and is recognized as a pioneer of gourmet pizza, fusing haute cuisine ingredients with tradition.
A CHARITY PROJECT TO SUPPORT THE BEST POSSIBLE LIFE FOR CHILDREN IN NEED OF CARE
A strong and concrete signal of solidarity. This is also the objective of the 2024/2025 edition of Sciare con gusto, an initiative which this year for the third time is aimed at less fortunate children, assisted by the Pediatric Hospice of Padua and Veneto, suffering from incurable or disabling diseases. “The best possible life” is the name of the Foundation, actively involved in the promotion and support of pediatric palliative care, to which Alta Badia is linked. For the entire next winter season, for each dish labeled “Skiing with taste”, served in the refuges participating in the initiative, €3.00 will be donated to charity to support the creation of the new North-East Reference Center for Palliative Care and Therapy of Pediatric Pain of the Veneto Region. An important action to concretely support the lives of numerous girls and boys.
GOURMET SKISAFARI: A CULINARY JOURNEY ON SKIING
The Gourmet Skisafari returns on Saturday 14 December. It is an itinerant journey in which you move on skis from one hut to another, where skiers will have the opportunity to taste the gourmet creations of five starred chefs: Massimiliano Alajmo, Simone Cantafio, Giancarlo Morelli, Beppe Guida and Cristian Fagone . These will bring the starred cuisine to 2000m in the heart of the South Tyrolean Dolomites and will delight skiers at some mountain huts, presenting their dishes, which, thanks to the products used, praise the local gastronomic excellences. In fact, to create the dishes, the chefs are inspired by the best local products, based on their own cooking philosophy, adapted for the occasion to a mountain environment. True works of art will be presented, not only for the palate, but also for the sight.
There will of course also be the opportunity to personally meet the chefs and have the story of their dish told. All for a first seasonal ski trip in the name of taste… and liveliness, the theme characterizing this edition of Skiing with taste.
SUNRISA: SKIING AT DAWN ON STILL VIRGIN SLOPES, BEFORE A RICH BREAKFAST AT 2000M
Skiing on a still virgin slope, before all the others, is a unique experience. If you do it in the heart of the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on the snow of Alta Badia, where the best Alpine skiing World Cup athletes compete on those days and, where you can enjoy an excellent breakfast at 2000m, the experience becomes even more captivating.
On Monday, December 23, the ski lifts on the Alta Badia plateau open their doors at dawn to give passionate skiers the opportunity to see the sun rise at 2000m and to ski on slopes perfectly prepared in the night by the numerous snow cats. snows in activity in the district. In combination, there is the possibility of enjoying a rich breakfast, based on genuine and healthy products, at the Club Moritzino, Ütia I Tablá, Ütia Bioch, Ütia Piz Arlara and Ütia Las Vegas refuges. Each refuge will be paired with a basic breakfast item, such as milk, cereal, eggs or fruit. The various dishes offered were created with the support of nutritionist Elena Casiraghi and contain the fundamental ingredients for a correct breakfast, certifying the ideal caloric and nutritional intake of each stage of the breakfast journey from one refuge to another.
THE APERITIF ON ICE: AN ORIGINAL AND “COOL” IDEA
It’s a short step from the ski slopes to a frozen lake. At Lake Sompunt, a place renowned for the possibility of ice skating, for the first time an exclusive aperitif is offered, directly on the frozen lake, in the middle of the woods. It is an elegant and refined aperitif, immersed in a serene and crystalline landscape, with the ice of the lake reflecting the light and amplifying the sense of beauty. The location is framed by the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, illuminated by the Enrosadira, the natural phenomenon which dyes the mountains red in the evening. Tables and chairs will be set up on the frozen lake for participants, while wines and appetizers will be served by expert sommeliers from South Tyrol and local chefs, all on skates. The appetizers, mainly based on local products and ingredients, will be paired with the best wines from Alto Adige, ranging from the best sparkling, white, red and rosé wines, expertly described by the participating sommeliers. The appointment is scheduled for January 30th. Places are limited and tickets can be purchased at the information offices of Alta Badia, or online on the website www.altabadia.org.
SOMMELIER ON THE TRACK
Discovering the best South Tyrolean wines becomes a unique experience, which combines skiing and tastings, thanks to the Sommelier on the slopes initiative. The aim of the seven events, scheduled between December and April (17 December, 14 and 28 January, 11 February, 11 and 18 March and 1 April), is to enhance the union between skiing and excellent local products . The initiative includes fabulous skiing on the slopes of Alta Badia, combined with the tasting of some of the finest wines of Alto Adige.
Participants will be accompanied by a ski instructor as well as a professional sommelier. The price of the tastings, ski guide included, is €40.00 per person. These are the refuges where the tastings will take place: Ütia Bioch, Club Moritzino, Ütia I Tablá, Ütia Las Vegas Lodge and Ütia Pic Pré. The events are organized in collaboration with the Alto Adige Wine Consortium and the Alto Adige Sommelier Association.
WINE SKISAFARI: THE WINE SAFARI ON SKIING
The wines of Alto Adige stand out for their excellent quality, thanks to a favorable climate, fertile soil and the love of the winemakers. Alto Adige wine plays a key role within the initiatives linked to gastronomy in Alta Badia and as such it should be celebrated on the occasion of the De dl vin – Wine Skisafari. The event on Sunday 23 March brings the best South Tyrolean wines to the mountains for an exclusive tasting, which will be held from 10am to 3.30pm, at the Piz Arlara, Bioch, I Tablà and Pralongiá refuges. For wine lovers, it is a pleasant ski trip, to discover the great variety of local wines. All accompanied by musical entertainment at the individual huts. The event is organized by Alta Badia Brand, in collaboration with IDM Alto Adige and with the support of the Alto Adige Wine Consortium.
Tickets for the wine tasting can be purchased for €35.00, directly at the four participating refuges or online on the website www.altabadia.org. The specific brochure is available at the tourist offices of Alta Badia. It is recommended to ski with caution.
RODA DLES SAUS: LADIN CUISINE ON THE TRACK
The Roda dles Saus returns again this winter: The week from 16 to 23 March will in fact be dedicated to Ladin cuisine and culture in the Skitour La Crusc ski area. Skiing from hut to hut you will be able to taste the dishes that originate in the heart of the Dolomites, combined with the best wines of Alto Adige. The Ladin cuisine, simple but genuine, is in fact the center of attention at the refuges within the Skitour La Crusc ski area. Each of these specializes in the preparation of a Ladin dish, cooked step by step following the grandmother’s recipe.
BREAKFAST AMONG THE PEAKS
Furthermore, throughout the winter season there will be the possibility of participating in the “Breakfast among the peaks” at the Las Vegas refuge. An excellent opportunity to be the first on the slopes in the morning, as well as to have a rich breakfast based on the best products from South Tyrol. Reservation is mandatory, directly at the Las Vegas Lodge refuge.
For information: Alta Badia Information Offices – www.altabadia.org – Tel.: 0471/836176-847037 – Email: [email protected]
Alta Badia Press Office:
Nicole Dorigo: Cell. 338/9506830 – Email: [email protected]
Stefanie Irsara: Cell. 340/8738833 – Email: [email protected]
