Saturday November 15 On the occasion of the 5th edition of the “Festa dei Gargati di Val Liona De.co.”, the final of the 1st gastronomic competition took place “Talents in Val Liona”, reserved for students of Vicenza's hotel management schools.

The contest rules required the submission of a recipe for a first course of gargati, the traditional pasta from the Val Liona area.

The students who competed were Veronica Trebondi (class 4^C1) and Francesco Manfridi (class 5^P), from the “P. Artusi” Hotel Institute in Recoaro Terme and Tommaso Civiero and Amedeo Nardi, both 4th year students at the Dieffe Professional Training School in Lonigo.

The former presented a dish dedicated to Broccolo Fiolaro 3.0, while the DiEffe team from Lonigo proposed a pumpkin-based creation.

The recipe from Artusi students “Fiolaro 3.0” It's a dish built on three textures—extract, florets, and powder—accompanied by Parmesan fondue, anchovy and caper crumble, olives, and confit tomatoes. A meticulously crafted dish born of research, testing, and attention to detail.

The recipe proposed by the students of the Dieffe Institute of Lonigo, Autumn Gargati with Pumpkin and Pecorino Cream It's a dish made with spicy pumpkin, fried artichokes, crispy bacon, pecorino cream, and tomato concassé: a rich preparation, which made the comparison even more interesting.

The preparation was evaluated by a jury very respectable, composed of private of the Isetta and Munaretto trattorias (Monica Gianesin and Sandra Antonello), by the president of the Lonigo district of Confcommercio Vicenza (Paolo Pietro Meneghini), from the secretary of Slow Food Veneto (Attilio Saggiorato) and by Stefano Cirillo, journalist of “The Journal of Vicenza".

The final, presented by the organizers of the event, Gianni Gusella, president of Visit Val Liona APS and by Alberto Basso, chef patron of the restaurant Three-quarters and creator of the event, saw healthy competition and a jury judgment that expressed high and similar scores in the various parameters set out in the competition rules.

In the end, the winners with a score of 91 (out of a possible 100) were: Veronica and Francesco of the Artusi Institute, while Amedeo and Tommaso of the Dieffe School obtained 88 points.

During the preparation of the dishes all the contestants faced the challenge with commitment, seriousness, calm, but also with a lot of competence.

The Artusi students were accompanied by Professor Antonio Varchetta, while the Dieffe students were accompanied by Professor Fabio Rossetto.

After the awards ceremony, everyone in attendance was treated to a tasting of Gargati di Val Liona De.co., prepared by the expert hands of chef Alberto Basso, with seasoning by Monica Gianesin of Trattoria Isetta.

Last but not least a very popular dessert, made especially for the event using ancient “Val Liona” wheat flour by students of the CFP professional school in Trissino, including Desirè Frizzo, who was present at the final thanks to the support given by their teacher Federico Rossi, baker from Gambellara.

The Visit Val Liona team extends sincere thanks to all participants and the Pro Loco volunteers for their hospitality at the beautifully prepared food stand for the Gargati Festival.

The appointment for the is almost a given 2nd edition, in November 2026, probably extended to other hotel schools in Vicenza!

(Photo gallery by Luca Giacomin & Ivan Piacere)