Christmas is a time for tradition, family, and sweetness—and in Italy, it’s also synonymous with Panettone. In Imperia, one of the finest Panettoni in Italy is crafted with exceptional skill and passion.
Jacopo Chieppa, the talented chef and master of leavened dough, who recently earned a Michelin star for his restaurant Equilibrio in Dolcedo, has created limited-edition, award-winning artisanal Panettoni.
A Starred Panettone: Seven Exclusive Creations
The art of baking leavened goods is a true passion for Chef Chieppa, who once again presents seven unique Panettoni this year, designed to surprise and delight even the most refined palates. Made with carefully selected ingredients and crafted using traditional techniques, each Panettone tells a story of dedication, harmony, and innovation.
The Classics: A Tribute to Liguria
Traditional Ligurian Panettone – A homage to tradition: candied orange and sultanas soaked for two days in Pigato wine give this Panettone a distinctive, regional character.
La Coccola – A true celebration of Liguria: extra virgin olive oil, candied olives, white chocolate, and candied lemon.
Gianduia Panettone – A dream for chocolate lovers, featuring luscious Gianduia chocolate.
70% Dark Chocolate and Salted Caramel – An irresistible combination and a bestseller from 2023, where dark chocolate meets the sweetness of salted caramel.
New for 2024: Three Special Edition Flavors
To mark his first “starred” collection, Jacopo Chieppa has unveiled three brand-new flavors, true masterpieces of pastry craftsmanship:
Pears, Dark Chocolate, and Coffee – A refined blend for those who enjoy bold, aromatic flavors.
Red Berries and Dark Chocolate – A perfect balance of freshness and sweetness.
Apricots and Dulce de Leche – A creamy embrace of fruit and South American-inspired sweetness.
Where to Buy Jacopo Chieppa’s Panettone
Chef Chieppa’s Panettoni are available for €30 at:
Kilo, his pizzeria on the Imperia seafront.
Equilibrio restaurant in Dolcedo.
Online, via the official websites of both locations.
For those who want to bring home a taste of Michelin-starred Christmas, this is the perfect opportunity to discover the pastry artistry of Jacopo Chieppa. May your Christmas be sweet, elegant, and unforgettable!
Liguria is a land of breathtaking contrasts: from cliffs overlooking the crystal-clear sea to the olive groves and vineyards of the interior. But the true soul of Liguria is also found in its unique flavors and culinary traditions. The pasta-based first courses, in particular, tell stories of the sea and the land, of simple and genuine ingredients transformed into gastronomic masterpieces. Let’s discover together some of the most iconic first courses of Ligurian cuisine that will make you fall in love with our region at the table!
Trofie al Pesto
Perhaps the most famous dish of Liguria, trofie al pesto, is a true symbol of Ligurian cuisine. Trofie is a short pasta, twisted on itself, made with durum wheat flour and water. Pesto alla genovese, made with fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino, extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt, is the perfect accompaniment to this pasta. The secret to good pesto lies in the freshness of the ingredients and the preparation technique, preferably with a marble mortar and wooden pestle.
Trenette al Pesto
Trenette is another type of Ligurian pasta, similar to linguine. Traditionally served with pesto alla genovese, they are often enriched with potatoes and green beans, cooked directly in the same water as the pasta. This dish represents a perfect balance of flavors and textures, where the creaminess of the pesto combines with the sweetness of the potatoes and the freshness of the green beans.
Pansoti with Walnut Sauce
Pansoti, or pansotti, are ravioli filled with a mix of local wild herbs called “preboggion.” These ravioli are then served with a delicious walnut sauce, made with walnuts, garlic, Parmesan, bread soaked in milk, and extra virgin olive oil. This dish is an explosion of flavors, where the sweetness of the walnuts and the taste of the herbs blend in perfect harmony.
Corzetti della Val Polcevera
Corzetti, or croxetti, are a traditional pasta from Val Polcevera, characterized by their round shape and a pattern impressed on each piece. These designs, often made with special wooden stamps, can vary from floral motifs to family crests. Corzetti are usually served with a pine nut, butter, and sage sauce, or with a simple tomato and basil sauce.
Testaroli al Pesto
Originating from the Lunigiana, an area between Liguria and Tuscany, testaroli is a very particular type of pasta. These are thin discs of dough cooked on a testo, a cast iron or terracotta griddle. Once cooked, the testaroli are cut into squares and seasoned with pesto alla genovese or with oil and cheese. Their unique texture and rustic flavor make them a truly special dish.
Mandilli de Saea
Also known as “silk handkerchiefs,” mandilli de saea are large, fresh lasagna sheets, extremely thin and delicate. They are usually served with pesto alla genovese, which adheres perfectly to the smooth surface of the pasta, creating a perfect combination of flavor and texture.
Minestrone alla Genovese
Perhaps not everyone knows that our fresh vegetable minestrone, known worldwide, owes its origins to the sea. In the port of Genoa, there were “catrai,” real floating inns set on boats or small barges that offered minestrone to sailors, which, with its green freshness, was a great comfort after long periods spent eating dry biscuits and salted foods. The dish belongs to the traditional poor cuisine typical of Liguria: its ingredients are easily obtainable natural products, such as seasonal vegetables and legumes: potatoes, beans, zucchini, chard, borage, and pasta called “scuccuzzù” or even rice, as well as the indispensable basil pesto (baxaicò).
Ravioli di Borragine
Ravioli are for all of us the dishes of Sunday lunch at grandma’s: usually filled with borage, a wild herb that grows in our countryside, Parmesan, marjoram, and ricotta. They are served with various types of sauce like tomato or ragù, but the “purist” recipe provides them only with oil and aromatic herbs.
Did we whet your appetite?
Our cuisine offers a variety of first courses that reflect the richness of the territory but also the simplicity of local cooking. Each dish tells a story made of ancient traditions and genuine ingredients, skillfully transformed into recipes that have conquered palates around the world
If you are not a fish lover and therefore dismiss a trip to Liguria out of hand thinking that the cuisine is only seafood, you are making a big mistake! Are you familiar with Ligurian cuisine? In our hinterland, more specifically along the moors that separate us not only from lower Piedmont but also from France, the so-called ‘Strada della Cucina Bianca‘ (White Cuisine Route) winds its way, a food and wine itinerary that will amaze you thanks to its, literal and otherwise, distance from coastal cuisine. The flavours are those of the malghe, high mountain summer pastures, and express the simplicity of the cuisine of yesteryear, bringing to the table recipes based on poor ingredients such as eggs, milk, flour, butter and then vegetables such as leeks or potatoes: hence the adjective ‘white‘.
Our favourites
Il Brodo di Erbe Amare: a soup made with borage and nettle tips
Le Turle: ravioli filled with mint and potatoes
Le Raviore: unlike the Turle, these ravioli are filled only with various wild herbs (nettles, mint, luisa grass, etc.)
Gli Streppa e Caccia Là: literally ‘tear and throw there’, fresh pasta created from a mixture of water and flour whose shape is irregular (precisely because it is torn into pieces and put directly into the pot to cook)
Il Brusso: fermented ricotta cheese with a really strong flavour
I Bastardui: small dumplings kneaded with herbs
Celebrated at the end of August, in the small village of Mendatica, the famous festival of the same name will give you the chance to taste all these recipes on one occasion. However, the Cucina Bianca brings together several villages in one big embrace. You can also enjoy it in Cosio and Borghetto d’Arroscia, Montegrosso Pian Latte, Pieve di Teco, Acquetico, Monesi di Triora, Viozene, and on the Colle di Tenda.
Among the specialities for which our region is known, there are few famous dessert recipes… but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t actually sweet treats to try. But which do we think are the DOC Ligurian biscuits?
The canestrelli
Canestrelli are flower-shaped shortbread biscuits belonging to the Ligurian tradition, created in the early 19th century in Torriglia near Genoa. The recipe includes only flour, butter, eggs and lots of sugar, but in some cases some lemon juice is also added. Little curiosity: be careful asking for Canestrelli in Taggia: here the canestrello is a kind of salted cracker, made with our Taggiasco olive oil… delicious! You can find it in all the bakeries of the small town of Taggia.
Amaretti from Sassello
Sassello is a small town on the heights of Albisola, on a road connecting Liguria and Piedmont. It is famous for its particular macaroons that, compared to the better known Saronno macaroons, are softer and more crumbly. The original recipe calls for sweet almonds, egg white, sugar and bitter almonds, but every pastry shop in Sassello boasts of having a secret ingredient. Other versions of these Ligurian amaretti, less common than those from Sassello, are the macaroons from Vallecrosia and the those from Gavenola, a hamlet of Borghetto d’Arroscia, both in the province of Imperia.
Baci from Alassio
Alassio is a famous seaside resort in the province of Savona, where back in 1919 Rinaldo Balzola, of the famous pastry which bears his name (and is still in business today) patented this sweet that became famous among the town’s rich tourists from all over Europe. The recipe? Roasted hazelnuts, sugar, bitter cocoa, honey, eggs, egg whites, dark chocolate for the cream.
From Alassio, these Baci actually spread a little throughout Liguria, and now several towns, including Sanremo, boast their own typical baci, which are exactly the same product as the baci created in Alassio.
Biscotti Lagaccio
These biscuits are the real biscuits of Ligurian grandmothers, who use to crumble or dip them in their cup of milk in the morning.Halfway between a biscuit and a rusk, they bear the name of a neighbourhood in Genoa. They are often confused with Salute biscuits typical of the Ovada area in Piedmont, but they are actually two different products. They were first produced in a bakery in Genoa in 1593 and were originally slices of toasted bread to be eaten during sea crossings as a substitute for galettes. All you need to make them is flour, butter, brewer’s yeast and sugar.
Let us say, however, that our customers’ favourite goodness is the shortbread and biscuits made by our Bruna, the legendary baker from Borgomaro who bakes hundreds of pastries for us during our season. And it is precisely these that you find at our five o’clock tea and on our breakfast buffet that both young and old go crazy for
Prepare the filling: boil the chard in salted water, squeeze and chop it. Blanch sweetbreads for a few minutes in lightly salted water, drain and dice them. Mince the lard. Let the breadcrumbs soften in a bowl of milk and squeeze them out.
Gather everything in a large bowl, add the eggs and grated Parmesan cheese, minced veal, pine nuts, peas, marjoram, salt and pepper and carefully mix the mixture. With this stuff the veal pocket, sew the opening with white kitchen thread and tie the meat like a roast. Soak it in 3 liters of cold water along with the onion, carrot and bay leaves, place on the stove and cook, letting it simmer for a good 2 hours.
Drain the meat, place it between two plates, place a weight on top so that it has the typical flattened shape, and let it cool.
Apericena, aperifritto, aperipizza… in short, the art of the aperitivo is now a typically Italian must! In Italy, the expression ‘taking an aperitif’ no longer means just enjoying a good drink, but doing so while munching on something (free of charge) such as scones, pizzettine, pancakes, mini-portions of salad, in short, more generally finger food. And not the usual nuts and chips, for goodness sake, don’t deny us a bit of healthy spilucching (spiluccare: to munch on smth). After all, a worldwide famous italian singer, Al Bano, says it himself: ‘a glass of wine, with a sandwich… happiness!’
But thinking about it, the aperitif is a good tool to discover the food and wine traditions of any city in a short time, to understand its customs and fashions, to get a different cultural point of view, isn’t it? Or are you maybe thinking this is our usual excuse to have a good drink?
I swear not, it is just the right occasion to discover the 5 bars for an aperitif in Imperia!
Bar La Torre
We set off from Porto Maurizio (to my great regret as a pure Onegliese DOC) to open the dances with a bar that, strictly speaking, was originally located in my beloved Oneglia, the eastern part of Imperia, and has now moved to the westernmost tip of the city. Watchword: sea view.
Fulvio and Fabrizio’s Bar la Torre attracts everyone, from every corner of our charming little town, partly because the location is perhaps totally out of competition in terms of beauty, and then because the two of them – the owners – are friendliness made flesh. You will find a nice list of cocktails that will not leave your mouth watering!
A Cuvea du Baffu
OK, let’s go on with the most popular. Federico, known as Baffo (mustache) has managed to give immense lustre to this bar, not even that small, in a super strategic position in Imperia. The bar is just the right amount of rustic, with a touch of modernity. Good variety of wines and cocktails, small plates served at the table that will make you stop thinking about dinner, friendliness and efficiency. Totally adequate prices.
Monkeys
We raise the bar in terms of location (just look outside) and product offering (just look inside).
A tiny bar on the promenade of the old port of Oneglia hides a treasure trove of more than a thousand different bottles, all displayed behind the bar. Dark but chill atmosphere. Their small plate of appetisers, Antonella knows, will not score them many points in this classification, while their first place as a drink selection is indisputable. Slightly higher than average prices.
Taste of Surf
Surf is new on the Imperia scene, but it won everyone over immediately. A real breath of fresh air, a new perspective with which to frame the aperitif in our town, but with careful study behind every preparation.
Tradition and innovation coming together, in short. “A cuisine that looks to the future, without forgetting its origins.” The cocktails, accompanied by tasty tapas that you can order à la carte, will amaze you with their balance, originality and refinement. Slightly higher than average prices.
Frisciolata & Fainà
We conclude our list with a real new entry! Frisciolata & Fainà occupies, geographically, the place of the old Bacan in the historic centre of Oneglia. The name, typically Ligurian, means ‘Farinata & Farinata’ – names declined in Ligurian dialect, with the same literal translation but… with a substantial difference! Frisciolata is the typical farinata from Imperia, in which we find spring onions cut into rounds as an extra ingredient, while Fainà is the white, classic farinata.
Here you will not only find these delicacies served as accompaniments, but you are sure to enjoy nice cocktails and excellent local wines!
