No one quite cooks vegetables like the Italians because we celebrate the seasons like no one else – so much so that we have festivals dedicated to this, such as Radicchio in the city of Treviso, that celebrates fresh fruit and vegetables! Buying what is available to you locally will mean you are always eating seasonally.
Slow Food Movement
Activist Carlo Petrini founded the Slow Food Movement in 1889 to counteract the increasing consumption of fast food across Italy. His ethos thrives on preserving local food traditions, food biodiversity and artisanal products, something that Eataly also strives to attain more than a decade after first creating a relationship with slow food. Our founder, Oscar Farinetti, began talking to Carlo Patrini before Eataly was ever even opened!
Adopting the Slow Food ethos, we support small-scale producers, we guarantee our delicious products are “good, clean and fair” and sell the highest quality Italian produce.
Why do people eat seasonally?
Well, not only are the flavours of food most prevalent when they are grown in season, but the produce is also beneficial to your environment! Seasonal food is generally grown closer to your home, which also means the food stays packed with flavour. For example, we’re sure we all know and adore the taste of sweet, ripe strawberries when they’re in season… who wouldn’t want all their produce tasting like that?!
See what products are currently in season!
August:
Their name says it all, but have you ever heard of Sun Sweet melons? August is the last month they are perfectly in season, so be sure to nip into our high-end fruit and vegetable greengrocers Natoora to buy one. These succulent, juicy melons are watered sparingly to make sure the fruit is full of natural sugar rather than water!
White peaches…the epitome of summer. Packed with flavour, juicy and sweet these peaches found in Natoora are in their prime from July to September. They often have speckled skin due to the intensity of natural sugar found inside.
September onwards:
In Italy the harvest begins, and our kitchen cupboards are filled with chestnuts, dried fruits, legumes, and pumpkins! If you browse our market you’ll find our delicious pumpkin stuffed pasta.
Did you know the months of September to December are when white truffle is perfectly in season? If you’re curious then make sure to try out our creamy white truffle mayonnaise or our infused olive oil. You can even order them online to make your life that little bit easier.
Mushrooms! From fresh mushrooms in Natoora that are sourced from the best farmers around Europe, perfect for adding to pastas, risottos or antipasti, to dried Italian porcini mushrooms packed full of flavour, this tasty vegetable is in season from late September to November.
Apples, pumpkins and Vitamin C packed oranges also thrive with flavour as September rolls round… pop in and have a mooch around our markets to pick up your favourite seasonal products!
