Car lovers know Piedmont for Fiat; sommeliers for Barolo; and coffee-holics for the Moka… But what the region really deserves the limelight for is food. Much of the region’s culinary heritage dates back to the chefs in the House of Savoy, one of Europe’s oldest dynasties (they go back to 1003 AD) and the ruling royal family of Italy from 1861 until 1946.

The Savoy family’s historic dominion over parts of France also allowed French influences to seep across the regions’ shared border, most notably in the use of butter over olive oil and the fact that cheese is often served as a dessert.