A Region at the Head of the Table

Piedmont in the guides
The initial analyses for this study were based on some of the field’s most authoritative
guides to Italian restaurants – Michelin, Gambero Rosso, Espresso, Touring Club,
Veronelli, Accademia della Cucina Italiana and SlowFood. These guides were used to
discern the nature of what Piedmont offers in culinary terms compared with the other
Italian regions, to determine what sets apart its particular excellence, and to formulate
some economic considerations with regard to prices.
An accurate analysis of the best Piedmont has to offer – based on the Michelin Red Guide
(2003 and 2004 edition), the Guida ai Ristoranti d’Italia Gambero Rosso 2004, and the
Guida ai Ristoranti de L’Espresso 2004 – made it possible to identify the master chefs
who are presented in the following pages and who collaborated in creating this guide.
Piedmont’s restaurants in the guides
Piedmont is always among the regions with the most restaurants cited in the guides.
Its chief competitor is Lombardy, followed by Tuscany and Emilia Romagna.
Our region is third for the number of restaurants cited in L’Espresso, with some 230
listings, surpassed only by Lombardy (first with 350 listings) and Tuscany (second with
250 listings). In the other guides, Piedmont holds the fifth position after Lombardy,
Latium, Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna in the Gambero Rosso, and after Lombardy,
Tuscany, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna in the Michelin.
600
Number of restaurants cited – 2004 editions of guides
500
400
300
200
100
0
Lombardy
Tuscany
Veneto
Emilia Romagna
Piedmont
Liguria
Latium
Campania
Sicily
Trentino-South Tyrol
Apulia
Fruili-Venezia Giulia
Marches
Umbria
Sardegna
Abruzzo
Calabria
Aosta Valley
Basilicata
Molise
Citations in Michelin Citations in Espresso Citations in Gambero Rosso
Piedmont is second in Italy for the number of starred restaurants – yet more evidence of
the high standing of our restaurants.
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