Enogastronomy in Mountain Areas Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

Overview

The aim of this Enogastronomy in Mountain Areas program from Free University of Bozen-Bolzano is to train food and wine experts capable of elevating food to the status of culture and giving it a new identity, on the basis of Michelin-starred chef Norbert Niederkofler's Cook the Mountain philosophy. An innovative concept that aims to rethink economic and social development by investigating the relationship between production, product, territory and consumption to create a cuisine that is a catalyst for cultural processes to spread a model of sustainable development.

 The raw materials, which are often difficult to find in an impervious context such as the Dolomites or other mountain areas, are made more valuable through the recovery of traditions and the rediscovery of biodiversity with the final result of elevating food to culture and giving it a new identity. 

The effect is to contribute to the creation of a transversal research laboratory on gastronomy that investigates the values that, on a global level, culturally and socially unite the people who live the mountains as a resource, passion, challenge, heritage to be protected, as well as to encourage a new way of experiencing the relationship between cuisine and mountains that combines ethics and conviviality, environmental sustainability and territorial development.

Career Opportunities

Graduates work as mountain food and wine experts in technical and organisational roles with specific skills in the food sector (technology and quality control, food safety and hygiene; management of mountain food and wine production companies), maîtres d'hotel or kitchen managers, logistics managers, procurement experts, or managers of specialised companies such as catering companies, restaurants or companies offering typical mountain food and wine products and services (agri-tourism, food and wine tourism, e-commerce, social media, conferences and events).