Issue 7 - April 3rd 2008 - From my kitchen to yours - Bologna, the gastronomic capital of Italy

Welcome back to the ‘From my kitchen to yours’ newsletter after a short Easter break. In this issue we’ve got two new features for you.

Firstly there is an article about my hometown of Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Italian cuisine varies tremendously from region to region and each seems to have something for which it is famous. Bologna’s culinary expertise, however, is world-renowned!

Next - we need your help! Give us your feedback about this newsletter. What do you like or dislike, how often would you like to receive it and what else would you like to see included. Your help is key in ensuring we only write about the things you’d like to read about!

And finally, our anniversary free prize draw gifts that are on display in the deli have been attracting a lot of attention. Have you seen them yet yourself? The draw itself takes place on April 18th and as long as you are a newsletter subscriber you will be included automatically!

Today I thought I’d tell you a little about my home town in Italy - Bologna - as not only is it a beautiful place, but its also one of Italy’s undiscovered secrets.

Indeed, you won’t find many buses of tourists being escorted around the fiery red-brick buildings of Bologna’s centro storico.

Bologna is also without doubt the gastronomic capital of Italy. It has many of the best restaurants that attract a knowledgeable clientele who are willing to travel even long distances to sample the best of Bolognese culinary tradition.

Asking for a plate of spaghetti bolognese, however, will get you some strange looks, mainly because spaghetti is not part of Bologna’s pasta heritage, which is dominated by exquisite egg pasta such as tagliatelle or tagliolini.

A bolognese sauce is known as ragù alla bolognese, and every mamma in the city will tell you that you need at least 6 hours to cook the sauce properly and that her version is the best!

Bologna is also famous for lasagne, hence the classic lasagne alla bolognese combination. This is my husband’s absolute favourite dish.

Perhaps the most famous of Bologna’s creations however are the literally divine tortellini. One legend tells how its unique ring shape was inspired by the beauty of Venus’s navel!

No matter how fascinating the stories, it is the legend of the Bolognese tradition of ragù, lasagne and tortellini that continue to inspire and delight our collective tastebuds.

Fortunately, this is one tradtion that is set to continue for a long time… especially in my kitchen!

Tell us what you think in our new newsletter survey!

Well, we have reached issue 7 in the life of this newsletter in seemingly no time at all. We hope you have liked what you have seen so far!

Indeed, feedback from many of you so far has been very positive, which is terrifically pleasing. However, we’d really like to get some more specific and detailed feedback about exactly what you like or dislike, as well as what else you would love to see included.

For example:

• What do you like about it?
• What would you like to see in it?
• How often would you like to receive it?

Our aim with the ‘From my kitchen to yours‘ newsletter is to only offer genuinely useful and interesting information, so we would really appreciate it if you could share your thoughts with us in a very brief newsletter survey and tell us what else you would like to see.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

N.B. There is a special surprise for those who complete the survey (hint - there is a clue in his section!). Furthermore, at the end you will also be able to go and see all of the results!

Our special Anniversary prize draw gifts are now on display in store.

This has certainly encouraged more people to sign up for our newsletter to make sure they are in with a chance of winning one of the three fantastic prizes at http://www.delsole.co.uk/anniversary-prize-draw/.

Let me just clarify however that if you are a subscriber to this newsletter you will be automatically entered into the prize draw for these gifts so you need do nothing!

If, however, you have a friend, partner or colleague who you would generously like to be included in the prize draw which takes place on April 18th, please forward this email to them by clicking the box below and suggesting they also subscribe to the newsletter!