Italian gastrotrip: how to make focaccia and farinata?

In April 2012, I had really good company in the Cinque Terre: Mautner Zsófia, the author of the popular Chili and Vanilia gastroblog and an online film crew.

Needless to say, the emphasis this time was on gastronomy. During our gastrotrip, we made pesto, baked focaccia and farinata, cooked tagliolini with batti batti, salted anchovies with the girls of the national park, tasted wine, limoncino and everything else that we came across.

The first episode of our video series was made in Corniglia. "La Gata Flora" can be found on the main street of Corniglia, Via Fieschi. Many people agree that this is the best place in the Cinque Terre to eat pizza, focaccia and farinata. So do I. During the season, you can choose from about 25 different types of focaccia, my favourites are with pesto and rosemary.

Gastronomy - Focaccia

Alberto has quite a personality, he is very friendly and funny. He is from Argentina but has lived in Corniglia for about 25 years. Originally, he was working as a cook on a ship but when he visited Corniglia on his day off, he was offered a job right away. I guess Alberto also loves the Cinque Terre as he only goes back to Argentina during the Italian winters for a holiday. If you speak Italian or Spanish, ask him why he named the place "La Gata Flora". As it is a story of "adult" nature, I cannot put it down here. UPDATE: Unfortunately Alberto returned to Argentina and "La Gata Flora" is closed.