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Each year, Griffith’s Pioneer Park transforms into
a pop-up shrine dedicated to la salsicce for the
annual salami festival. Carla Grossetti visits this
NSW Riverina town for a taste of the action.
Homegrown
Griffith’s
Salami Festival
Clockwise from far left: plates of
salami piled up to feed the crowds;
enjoying The Little General extra virgin
olive oil with salami and bread; basting
a spit-roasted lamb at the Mancini
family farm south of Griffith; Sam
Mancini of The Little General.
Photography
Katie Kaars
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G
ood food has been
woven into the fabric of Griffith for close
to a century. And, judging by the size of
the crowds at its annual Festa Delle Salsicce
(Festival of the Sausage), this town in south-
western NSW is well and truly on the map
for food-lovers who are passionate about
authentic Italian-Australian culture.
The story of how Griffith’s Festa Delle
Salsicce began can be distilled into the
story of two men – Roy Catanzariti and
the late Tony Fattore – who had a friendly
disagreement about whether southern or
northern Italians produced the superior
salami. Even now, 13 years on, it doesn’t take
much to unearth the good-natured tension that ignited the debate.
“This all started with a simple bet between two friends about
who makes the better salami. My family is from Calabria; the Fattores
are from Abruzzi. I won the bet that first year because the winner
– Guiseppe Trimboli – was from the south,” explains Roy, now 71.
As for who actually does make the best salami, Roy diplomatically
responds by saying, “It’s a matter of personal taste,” before gently
reminding me his Calabrian counterparts have trumped it with their
track record, “winning best salami about eight times so far”.
Although the amicable bet is the axis around which the festival
formed, Roy says it has since evolved into a gathering that extends
beyond a celebration of cured meats.
“The friendly rivalry is just that – friendly. Really, the festival
is a celebration of being Italian – no matter which region you are
from,” says Roy, who retired from his role as manager of the local
Medicare office in 2007 and has organised the event from day dot.
First impressions of Griffith are that it’s a fairly typical rural
Australian town. But scratch the facade, and charm and authenticity
abound. This is a place where gardens are mown by sheep, men have
hands as gnarled as olive trees and women walk home together from
the farmers’ market, laughing and chatting. It’s a taste of country life
with a predominantly Italian twist – where food serves as a medium
for sharing and says much about the area’s migrant history.
True to the quirky, homely feel of the festival, judging for the
Salami Festival takes place in an old Chinese restaurant that has long
since closed. While the exterior is rather drab, push open the door
and you enter a warm, convivial space full of people huddled around
tables, presiding over platters of freshly sliced salami and opining
on the efforts of each entry. I’m seated beside TV presenter Paul
Mercurio, major festival sponsor Leo Franco, of Leo Franco Motors,
and Denis Tagliapietra, a mechanical engineer.
The 24 judges gather in the room to sample some 140 salamis
and award a score out of 30, comprised of up to 10 points each for
texture, aroma and taste. Roy, whose parents Frank and Mary arrived
in Griffith in the 1920s, says the breakdown of entrants in last year’s
competition comprised about 65 per cent Calabresi, 20 per cent ‘skips’
(Australians), 15 per cent Venetian, Piedmontese and Abruzzese, and
a small percentage of Sicilians.
Keen cook Paul Mercurio says he takes the act of salami-judging
very seriously. “I’m not here just to eat salami, I’m here to find
Griffith’s best salami,” he says, before inhaling the aroma of Salami
Number 44, which all judges agree has a potent kick of pepper.
When the panel of judges – plucked from northern and southern
Italian backgrounds – has rated each and every salt-cured submission,
the ‘salami statisticians’ collate the scores and declare the top 10
finalists. The regional clash continues the following day when the
winner, ‘southerner’ Joe Sergi, is announced at the main festival event
held in Pioneer Park, on the town’s outskirts.
GRIFFITH’S
CULTURAL
HISTORY
In Fruits of Our Labour: The History of
Griffith’s Italian Community, historian
Jennifer Cornwall traces the history of
migration in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation
Area (MIA), where the Murrumbidgee
River meets the great Riverine Plain.
Commissioned by the Migration Heritage
Centre, the publication documents the
arrival of Italian peasants in the early
1900s to this frontier settlement in search
of benessere (prosperity).
“As news of work opportunities
circulated, concentrations of Italians
from the same villages and towns
developed in places such as… the MIA,”
writes Jennifer. By the end of 1929,
Italians owned 67 farms in the MIA and
by 1940, 230 horticultural farms were
owned by Italians. “The central role the
Italians played in the economic and
cultural development of the Griffith area
is a source of much local pride,” she
adds. Jennifer describes Griffith today
as, “A culturally diverse and integrated
community, more so than many urban
areas in Australia.”
Since the Italians, other prominent
migrant groups have also settled in
Griffith, including Sikhs, Turks, Fijians,
Hindus, Afghans and Pacific Islanders.
Joe Pasin lends a hand
behind the grill. Clockwise
from right: slicing up
polenta; cook and TV
presenter Paul Mercurio is
one of the judges; sweet
offerings from Bertoldo’s
Bakery; salami ready for
the judging panel.
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“Making salami is a ritual. It’s a get-together day with family and
friends. The focus of the festival is on the occasion as much as the
salami,” explains Joe, who has won first prize three times. “A few weeks
before the festival, the northerners and southerners stir each other
up – but it’s all good fun,” he says.
Joe, a third-generation winemaker and managing director of
Warburn Estate, says the secret to his salami recipes is that he makes
everything from scratch. Joe’s grandparents, Giuseppe and Mary,
migrated to Australia from Calabria in the 1950s, where they followed
the age-old Italian custom of planting grape vines. Despite being born
and bred in Griffith, the 49-year-old says he is happy the traditions of
his forefathers have been firmly transplanted in Australian soil.
“This festival ensures that authentic Italian life – the music, the
food, the language – continues with generations to come,” says Joe,
whose wife Mary, 43, and four children (Angela, 22, Christina, 20,
Tony, 19, and Melissa, 15) all help to produce his award-winning salami.
“Nothing goes to waste. To make the salami, we slaughter the
pig, mince various parts and mix it with spices and hang it. It’s the
ritual that makes it so special,” says Joe, who has won $1000 and
a salami-making machine for his efforts.
The fact that the salami festival is not as commercial in character
as big-city festivals is, Roy believes, what makes it such a success. He
also says it’s a very positive event for the people of Griffith, and not
just for those who have Italian backgrounds. “In 12 years, we’ve gone
“To make the salami, we slaughter the pig,
mince various parts and mix it with spices
and hang it. It’s the ritual that makes it so
special,” says Joe Sergi, who has won $1000
and a salami-making machine for his efforts.”
Joe Staltare leads the music-making on his accordion.
Clockwise from far left: grilling the polenta; the salami-
judging process; dancing the afternoon away; the 2012
best salami winner Joe Sergi (seated), with (from left)
his son Tony, daughter Angela and wife Mary.
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from 12 salamis and 75 people to 138 salamis and 800 people. The festival
brings a lot of visitors to the town and boosts our economy, which is
needed after all the issues challenging the farmers in the region.”
In between guiding guests – half of whom are out-of-towners – to
tables, Roy wanders around the marquee to ensure the red wine is
flowing. As more and more people pour in, Annalisa Surian is kept
busy in the kitchen mixing large trays of polenta alongside an army of
apron-clad women. The 63-year-old is secretary of the Griffith Italian
Museum and author of Cavasott in Australia. The book details the
many stories of settlement from the northern Italian region of Cavasa
del Tomba, where many of the town’s migrants were born.
Annalisa arrived in Australia in 1950 with her parents, Ernesto and
Catinetta, at the age of nine months. Annalisa says her parents – both
of whom have since passed away – maintained the old Cavasott way of
life because such a large proportion of the Griffith community were
from the same area. “The other day, I found a photo of me aged three
standing in front of a skinned pig ready for salami-making. The picture
is a bit fuzzy now, but shows I have a long-held affiliation with salami
and other good old-fashioned Italian traditions,” she says.
Annalisa met her husband Dante, now a 69-year-old retired grape
farmer also of northern-Italian descent, at a dance organised by the
Yoogali Italian Club in the mid-1960s. Fast-forward a few decades
and the Yoogali Club is still at the centre of most cultural events in
Griffith. Today, Yoogali board member John Sergi, 52, is in charge
of catering the Festa Delle Salsicce festival and is conducting the
proceedings with military-like precision.
When lunch is served, Annalisa and her offsiders direct traffic into
the dining room, toward tables bent under the weight of 80 kilos of
polenta, 900 pieces of chicken cacciatore, 900 pieces of veal scallopini,
60 kilos of rice, 100 kilos of peperonata, chillies, potatoes and onion,
90 loaves of crusty Italian bread and a mountain of salads.
Back outside, underneath the marquee, Sam Mancini has managed
to marshal a few of the tables for family and friends. Sam is a second-
Clockwise from below: The festival attracted 800 visitors in 2012;
Xavier, Liz, Alexandra, Sam and Luke Mancini, the family behind
The Little General; La Tavola, one of Griffith’s Italian restaurants.
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VISIT
Griffith Salami Festival,
24–25 August 2013
Numbers at Griffith’s annual salami
festival are currently capped at
about 800, which means tickets
to the event, costing $60 each,
sell out fast. For information, call
Roy Catanzariti on 0412 777 147.
Italian Migration Heritage Trail
Download an Italian Migration
Heritage trail brochure and chart
your course around historic sites
that chronicle the history of Italian
settlers in the area and the impact
of their migration nearly a century
ago. griffith.nsw.gov.au.
Warburn Estate Winery
taste award-winning wines at the
cellar door at this winery. Warburn
has more than 1000 hectares
under vine, a crush capacity of
40,000 tonnes and tank storage
for 35 million litres of wine.
warburnestate.com.au.
EAT
La Scala
this cosy bolthole, situated in
an atmospheric cellar down a
somewhat dishevelled arcade,
is a local institution for good
reason: the food has the imprint
of someone who delights in
cooking and in sharing that
pleasure. Chef Renato Vico’s
homemade pizza, pasta and
desserts are exceptional. 455
Banna Ave, (02) 6962 4322.
Bertoldo’s Bakery
this family run bakery was opened
by the Bertoldo family in 1952.
third-generation bakers and
brothers John and stephen
Bertoldo and family have
maintained the character of the
cafe, a convivial hub where locals
converge for cannoli and crostoli,
a loaf of crusty ciabatta and a
creamy cappuccino. 324 Banna
Ave, (02) 6964 2514.
La Piccola Grosseria & Italian Deli
this is the sort of institution that
makes Griffith great. Brother-
and-sister team sam and Maria
trimboli laugh and joke with
customers as they dispense thin
slices of Grana Padano to those
waiting in line for a continental
sandwich bursting with salami,
rocket and antipasti. 444a Banna
Ave, (02) 6964 7266.
STAY
Centrepoint Apartments
these self-contained, serviced
apartments are located close to
the heart of the town’s centre. the
rooms are decked out with comfy
lounges, flat-screen tVs, internal
laundries and broadband internet
connections. Corner of Ulong
and Yambil Sts, (02) 6960 2000,
centrepointapartmentsgriffith.
com.au.
Ingleden Park
this working farm offers bed and
breakfast in two charming,
self-contained farmstay cottages
located away from the town’s main
drag. as well as enjoying all mod
cons, guests can also participate
in day-to-day farm activities. 225
Coghlan Rd, (02) 6963 6527,
ingleden.com.au.
generation farmer whose late parents, Alberto and Vanda, were
post-war migrants who arrived in Griffith in the early 1950s. In
2000, Sam steered the family farm away from growing rice and
wheat to cultivating olives and, since 2005, has produced his own
award-winning brand of extra virgin olive oil, dubbed The Little
General. He is joined at the table by his Australian-born wife Liz,
and their adult children, Alexandra, Luke and Xavier, and about
20 friends from Sydney.
“Food and the sharing of food is important to Italians and that’s
what this day is about,” says Sam. “Griffith is like Australia’s ‘Little
Italy’. We’re all about hospitality, generosity, family and traditions,
and that’s what is at the heart of Griffith’s salami festival. It’s a coming
together of a diverse cross-section of the community and has given us
an identity that’s now unique to this region,” he adds. “My children
all have a foot in both cultures, but they also share my passion to
build on my family’s farming heritage, which began in Italy and has
continued in the Riverina region of NSW.”
By mid-afternoon, the atmosphere in the marquee becomes even
more jovial and raucous: pockets of people are eating, drinking and
chatting, games of bocce (bowls) are under way and a large clump of
the crowd is now clapping, twirling and stomping along to the beat
of the accordion-driven folk band. As the sun starts to set, Roy looks
happy and relaxed as he surveys the remains of the day. “Salute salami!
Che gioia vivere! (The joy of living),” he exclaims.
the hit list
La Piccola Grosseria & Italian Deli (left)
is one of Griffith’s many Italian family-
run businesses, owned by Michele
Trimboli (below) and managed by
his children Sam and Maria.
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