Every food has its own story, social life, biography, and even its own personal geography. Going grocery shopping means participating in a supply chain, and being part of a dream, a job, and the challenge of a small producer and the territory where they live. If it’s true that eating is like travelling without the hassle of luggage, then choosing what to buy is like packing a suitcase for a short trip. Just think about how much GEOGRAPHY we put in the Pantry without even realizing it! When speaking of food geography, we often refer to the fact that food, just like other product types, brings perfect strangers both near and far together, while creating a connection between them. At the same time, food gives rise to a secret geography, blending ingredients, places, and journeys that seem to have nothing to do with one another, to then go on to create new culinary spaces. Food moves in accordance with hidden, alternative, geographies that are represented by the emotions and curiosity it inspires. If I say the word truffle, where do you think we’re going? Easy! We’re travelling with our minds and sense of smell to the middle of the woods in the Marches, accompanied by man’s best friend, a dog, and the team at La Cerca: for them, the truffle is an expression of territory, tradition, and emotion. For chocolate truffles, instead, there is La Perla di Torino, a company that has been narrating and selling luxury chocolates since 1992 using only the finest Langhe hazelnuts. 
La Castagna Leopoldina brings us to the foothills of Mount Amiata, where premium Florentine chestnuts are produced and processed, and where in addition to geography, we also learn a little bit about history: the name “Leopoldina” is a tribute to Leopoldo Pietro, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his agricultural reforms. 
If I say Carasau Bread? Sardinia! And more precisely Sunalle, where the bread typical of the Island is produced with simple and natural ingredients that fully respect the environment, thanks to the use of energy from renewable sources. Sometimes it’s the place to inspire the product: “We arrived as tourists in Pachino in 2000 and for the first time we experienced the true taste of tomatoes – declare the founders of PachinEat - In 2013, we decided to change our life and open a tomato processing company in Pachino that offered new products”. 
Grocery shopping geography allows us to travel at different altitudes: from the seaside to the mountains in no time at all. We could go to Pantelleria where the caper company La Nicchia Pantelleria is creating the future of capers, or – with a sweater on our shoulders – go up to the Sibillini mountains to taste pasta made with water, mountain wheat, bronze drawing and drying at low temperatures, by Regina dei Sibillini. 
With your grocery shopping as a map and the ingredients as many small journeys.


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