VENCHI, CHOCOLATE SINCE 1878
The Venchi story began in the far-off 1800s. Born and bred in the Piedmont region, Silviano Venchi was an ambitious, creative young man with a great passion for chocolate. He had the good fortune to grow up in Turin, the birthplace of gianduja and home to innumerable fine chocolatiers. Silviano loved to wander through the old streets of his hometown, stopping and closing his eyes as he breathed in the heady aroma of chocolate that drifted out of the traditional pastry-makers’ workshops around the centre. Whenever he could, he would sneak into the kitchens and watch the skilled hands of local chocolate-makers at work, gazing speechless as they deftly concocted the food of the gods. Aged 16, he began his career as an assistant in a confectioner’s workshop. Within four years he had put enough aside to buy two bronze cooking pots – the tools of the trade – and had gained sufficient experience to attempt to make his dream come true. So, in 1878, he opened his own chocolate shop.
PIEDMONT HAZELNUT AND GIANDUJA
The Piedmont halzenut is one of our key ingredients and a symbol of high quality Italian confectionery. We select them carefully one by one, roast them and divide into different weights and sizes to be used in our chocolate fillings as whole nuts, or grounded into a fine paste – the renowned gianduja.
There are several recipes celebrating the delicious chocolate and hazelnut pairing: the traditional nougatine with caramelized pieces of hazelnuts; cremino 1878 chocolate and its darker version with 3 layers of gianduja; prendivoglia chocolate with whole hazelnuts; the tartufino recipe and the typical piedmontese giandujotto recipe available in the extra dark, filled and milk chocolate version.
