A chef’s guide to Modena, Italy, a gastronome’s paradise | Canada Voices

In 2013, Jessica Rosval embarked on a year-long trip to Europe with her then-partner, who had landed a scholarship at a university in Milan. With the city as their home base, they planned to explore Europe and North Africa.

The trip also offered Rosval the chance to dine at Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Modena, within Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region.

“I didn’t expect that dinner to change my life,” she said.

Rosval’s affinity for restaurants began at the age of 15, when she worked as a hostess at an Italian-American restaurant in Montreal, where she grew up. During her shifts, she would wander into the kitchen and chat with the cooks and dishwasher.

“I fell in love with the humanity of restaurants,” said Rosval, who attended Montreal’s Institut de Tourisme et d’Hôtellerie du Quebec after high school.

After that fateful meal at Osteria Francescana, Rosval met chef and owner Massimo Bottura, and landed an opportunity to train under him. After only a week in Italy, Rosval then relocated to Modena.

Modena is a gastronome’s paradise: The small city with a nearly-1,000-year-old cathedral, is centrally located in Italy’s Food Valley, where Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma and balsamic vinegar are all produced.

In 2019, Bottura and his wife Lara Gilmore opened Casa Maria Luigia, a boutique hotel near Modena. Rosval is now chef de cuisine at its restaurant, Al Gatto Verde.

Acclaimed for her menu of wood-grilled and smoked meats, she’s also known for her innovative use of Modenese ingredients such as cotechino, a gelatinous pork sausage.

In 2020, Rosval co-founded the Association for the Integration of Women, a training program for migrant women in Modena. She then founded an associated restaurant, Roots, where women from the association prepare dishes inspired by their home countries of Bangladesh, Guinea, Morocco and Nigeria.

The city still inspires her, Rosval said, even after 13 years. Sundays are her favourite day in town.

“It’s a very easy day in Modena. You walk around and have a nice aperitivo and spritz near Piazza Roma, in the middle of the city, and people-watch in front of the Ducal Palace,” she said.

Here are Rosval’s top picks for a trip to Modena.

Trattoria Bianca – A traditional trattoria

“This trattoria makes traditional Modenese cuisine. It’s located inside an inn and has been around for almost 80 years. They serve a fried gnocchi dish – gnocco fritto – with mozzarella and cherry jam. I would go just for the cherry jam.”

Cotton Club – A speakeasy with live music

“This is a great bar in Modena. I suggest going on Sundays, when they have live music. They have an amazing cocktail list, but my go-to is a gin martini with a drop of brine and olives, which they do very well.”

Mercato Albinelli – A stroll through Modena’s historic market

“This is the city’s central historic market. It’s been open for nearly a century. It carries the freshest produce. I often go for tomatoes, mozzarella, peaches and grissini – Italian breadsticks – to enjoy together.”

Details Modena – A sample of Italy’s sartorial tradition

“I go to this boutique to see Genevieve Franchini, who curates the boutique with good taste. It’s my one stop for any outfit that I need for an occasion.”

Bar Schiavoni – For a traditional cotechino sandwich

“This place makes an incredible sandwich with cotechino. People typically eat cotechino in the winter, since it’s very rich, but this bar makes it with salsa verde, which cuts through some of the fat. It’s so good, you can eat it 365 days a year.”

Caseificio Rosola – A cheesemaker in a mountain village

“This cheesemaker is located in Zocca, a village in the Apennine Mountains. It’s a bit of a drive from Modena, but it’s worth it. They make the best Parmigiano Reggiano in the world. If you get up there early enough, you may have a chance to see the aging process and enter the towers where they age the cheese.”