The wonderful food that Turin, Italy is famous for is not making its way onto the plates of the Olympic athletes. In fact, there have been numerous complaints about the food, including accusations of food poisoning from the Canadian curling team. Athletes from all over the world, including America and Lithuania, are saying that they "expected more from an Italian kitchen" and wonder "how can you screw up pasta?" Because the Olympic Village is not in a central location, with athletes spread over many villages, the food is not all being prepared by the same kitchen staff. Some athletes are fortunate enough to have a personal or team nutritionist who will prepare all their meals, while others can only look forward to the time that they can spend in Turin itself, sampling the city's non-Olympic offerings.

It was a few days before I tasted it, and when I did, I was truly in a new cioccolato heaven. From this day forward, Caffarel will be my chocolate of choice when I just need something incomparably creamy, rich, melt-in-mouth-able.

You know how most chocolate bars settle on one extreme of the creaminess scale, either too soft and sticky, or so hard they hurt your teeth when you break off a chunk? Caffarel's gianduia bar is so soft and delicate, it's already melting when it hits your tongue; but yet the bar is solid, easily broken into chunks by hand. And still, no chocolatey fingerprints. The hazelnut taste is perfect, just the essence of flavoring, not tipping the balance to bitter, as so many hazelnut-flavored chocolates do. I give Caffarel the chocolate gold medal. My bar was $3.89 (definitely not cheap) at Pastaworks. Hopefully I'll be able to afford it more than once every four years.

A bicerin is the traditional drink of Turin, Italy. It has been made there since the mid 1700s, essentially unchanged over the past nearly 250 years. It is a mixture of milk and chocolate (locally produced in Italy), coffee and whipped cream. As you can see in the photo of David Lebovitz's lovely rendition of the drink, it is possible to see all three layers, the bottom layer being rich with milk and chocolate. As you might imagine, it is quite rich and it should be served in a small glass (called a bicerin, hence the name). His recipe makes it possible for you to whip up a batch of this decadent drink at home, to enjoy as you cheer on your favorite athletes at the Winter Olympic Games.

Torino or Turin, where the Winter Olympics are currently in full swing, is famous for its cioccolato (chocolate). Chocolate makers in Torino have been practicing this culinary art for centuries. In 1865, however, came the invention of the gianduja (zhan-DOO-yah)– the most famous chocolate of Piedmont—made from chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. In fact, Nicole has already posted that it has been named the official chocolate of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Some websites claim that gianduja is a Swiss invention, but Torinese chocolatiers would say that it is because the Swiss learned to make it by visiting their city.

According to extra-torino, a Torino guide, "the tradition of gianduja chocolates and giandujotti is as alive as ever—you can hardly count the number of shops that hand make this delicacy—Peyrano, Pfatish, Gobino and many others." Since today is Valentine's Day and the Olympics are happening, why not seek out some gianduja to mark the occassion?

[photo: Livio Bersano]

Cybele, at Candyblog.net, was lucky enough to get her hands on some official Olympic candy, straight from Torino, Italy, courtesy of a friend. The candy is gianduia chocolate, which means that it is a combination of chocolate and ground hazelnuts. It has a slightly chewy, sticky texture that lingers on the tongue. Check out her site for a full review, but I definitely wouldn't mind if these bite-sized chocolates made their way over to the US. I'm willing to have a piece of chocolate (or two) to support the athletes!