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Piacenza, Sunday lunch. A nice tablecloth, anticipation for the appetizer, and uncle triumphantly brings a beautiful salami to the table. At that precise moment, the family's eyes turn to Marco Gasparotto: it's his turn, by investiture, to take up the knife. But the official slicer doesn't know the ropes: "If the cured meat isn't as it should be, if it's aged incorrectly or the seasoning isn't right, I'll tell them without much hesitation. In this case, I'll definitely look in the mouth: I won't eat it just because it's a gift from relatives. They know me by now and know I'm a thorn in their side."
It's not insolence, but rather professional incompetence: Gasparotto, 44, is in fact a Geographical Indication inspector for CSQA , the third-party certification body that oversees the application of production specifications for the Protection Consortium. In practice, he's the man who ensures that Piacenza's golden hat trick of coppa, pancetta, and salami , which rightfully competes in the Champions League of cured meats, meets the requirements and always lives up to its name.
Portfolio meets the hunter of details among the cellar aromas, to understand what lies behind the DOP certification , and discovers that for Gasparotto, the path to local cured meats passed through decidedly more exotic routes. A veterinary medicine graduate from Padua, before entering the world of certification in 2013, he lived for two years in Cambodia as a border veterinarian at a wildlife rehabilitation center.
"There I cared for endangered animals: monkeys, crocodiles, elephants. It was my dream, an adventurous life, but for personal reasons I returned to Italy. However, I found the routine of the dog and cat clinic a bit boring, so I looked for something that maintained a scientific approach and fieldwork."
Seizing the opportunity at CSQA was a natural fit: after all, there's only one step from protected species to protected products; it's always about protecting a heritage that, if left unprotected, risks disappearing.
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Source: Freedom