Flauer Alassio 2025 is a unique event, exploring edible flowers, wild herbs, food sustainability and mixology. And a whole lot more.
We came to Flaurer Alassio with high expectations. Three days to explore the world of edible flowers in itself was particularly appealing. Not that they are particularly new on the culinary dishes being served up in the world’s best restaurants. But we wanted to find out if they could play a wider and more interesting role in the world of mixed drinks. And while the emphasis at Flauer Alassio 2025 might appear to be on chefs, dishes and restaurants, this was the first year the event also welcomed in spirits, bars and bartenders to explore the increasingly important role edible flowers are playing in cocktails.
We joined fascinating workshops, met a lot of very interesting people and tried some delicious drinks. Along the way we learnt a lot. Especially that there is more to edible flowers than just an attractive cocktail garnish.
Here are 14 of our favourite discoveries…
1. Begonias make an extraordinary gin
At their edible flower workshop we met Silvia Parodi and Marco Ravera, founders of tastee.it. They specialise in all things edible flower related. Guided by them we sampled a wide variety of begonias. Along with the vibrant differences in colour from yellow to lilac to bright red, we found how they each had their own characteristics of flavour. Sometimes bitter, sometimes sour, one reminiscent of lemon, another of orange.
As well as growing the flowers they have been producing a whole range of sustainable edible flower products, including a delicious sorbet which we were lucky enough to sample. Better still they have turned their attention to producing a gin as Sylvia explained.
“We’ve had a farm for 18 years where we’ve been growing vegetables and fruit, but then we decided to experiment with edible flowers. These were a very big success. Then Marco, my husband, wanted to try putting our begonias into a gin. Actually this was originally just for us to drink with friends, but the result was so extraordinary we couldn’t keep it for ourselves and launched it last year. It has the natural colour of the flowers, along with a distinctive hint of the begonia in the aroma and even more in the taste, along with some citrus. It’s fresh, clean, dry and perfect to drink neat and in cocktails.”
It’s called Be!Gin,and having tried it, as suggested, neat and in a variety of mixed drinks and cocktails, we cannot wait for it to hit our shores.
As for those cocktails…
2. Stroscia a local cake and now a delicious cocktail
Heard of Stroscia? No, neither had we until local bartender Leonardo Quartero explained it was a regional cake made with extra-virgin olive oil. When invited to make a cocktail featuring Be!Gin for an olive oil workshop at Flauer Alassio it was his inspiration.
“I love the richness of Stroscia cake and wanted to create it as a drink. I made a cordial using begonias and an extra-virgin olive oil which has notes of orange and rose, and it works really well with the floral quality of the gin. I simply stir it over ice, serve it straight up and garnish it with another single drop of the olive oil.”
We loved it. Rather like a floral gimlet it was clean and very appealing. Moreover, the garnish of the olive oil drop worked incredibaly well too adding to the aroma as well visual appeal. This garnish also gave birth to a new description…
3. “Ghost Olive”
Coined by Leonardo Quartero and journalist Daniela Ferrando to describe a garnish of an olive drop. We think the description “Ghost Olive” could very well catch on.
Daniela also had a lot more to say on the subject of olive oil in her workshop…
4. Olive oil: how to taste it, infuse it, drink it
In her fascinating workshop Daniela shared her knowledge and passion for olive oil. Importantly she explained the correct way to taste it; covering the glass with your hand, swirling it gently, then nosing before taking a little into the mouth and rolling around the tongue. Like wine but with more subtlety.
Infusions were important too. Using a few begonia petals from our earlier workshop we were encouraged to infuse them in our oil. Even after just a few minutes the change in taste was incredible.
And, as we had experienced with Leonardo’s cocktail, we saw that olive oil isn’t just for the kitchen but for the bar too.
Not content with inventing one new word, “Ghost Olive”, Daniela also had another one for us…
5. “Mix-oil-ogy“
What better way to describe the bringing together of the many variations of olive oil with the world of cocktails than “Mix-oil-ogy”.
6. Olive oil waste could be a new kind of cocktail ingredient
While at the olive oil workshop we also met food technology engineer Daniella Capone. Her specialisation for many years has been the production of premium olive oil. Now she is working with a new kind of natural technique which allows fruit and vegetables to be dried at very low temperatures. Not only does this produce intense flavours, it also retains all of the colour, characteristics and vitamins. Bringing her skills and this technology together has also resulted in something which importantly reduces waste and could also be a very interesting addition to the drinks world.
“When you produce olive oil there is, unfortunately, a lot waste in the form of an olive paste. We can now dry this paste to produce an olive powder,” explains Daniella. “Not only does it reduce waste, it tastes incredibly intense and presents exciting new opportunities for chefs and mixologists.”
We tried some and can attest that she is right. It could lead to a whole new interpretation of a classic Dry Martini.
7. Up in the hills to Villa della Pergola
As well as joining workshops and presentations we also headed up to the stunning Villa della Pergola. Once a very grand house it had fallen into severe disrepair since being abandoned. Following a painstaking six years and a half years of extensive restoration Villa della Pergola opened in 2012 and now boasts over 40 varieties of Wisteria. Each variety comes beautifully into bloom at a different time with various colours and distinctly different aromas. On our visit the sprawling grounds were ablaze with delightful lilac flowers in every direction and the air heavy with their incredibly rich scent.
And, yes, wisteria was also present in the non-alcoholic drink we enjoyed to cool down in the heat. Created in Villa della Pergola’s Michelin-starred restaurant Nove, the drink combined essence of Wisteria with local limes, lemons and oranges, along with ginger and honey. Simple and refreshing and with just a hint of floral notes to beautifully compliment our surroundings.
8. And do you know what Wisteria represents?
Love and friendship we were told. We’ll drink to that.
9. Evening by the sea, Twenty7 Bar and three cooling cocktails
Over at Twenty7 Bar we met head bartender Renato Motta who told us about the three cocktails he had created to celebrate Flauer Alassio.
“Be Flauer is a refreshing combination of Be!Gin, pink grapefruit and elderflower cordial, topped with a floral soda which we made using begonia petals. Elixir, meanwhile, is a more intense drink which brings together passion fruit, pisco and Chartreuse and is garnished with a begonia. Finally, #7 is a very vegetal drink using our local basil, rosemary and ginger which work incredibly well with the earthy notes of the mezcal.”
10. Flowers are knowledge
“Local people here do not realise that there are over 3600 different botanicals in this region,” explained botanical expert and author Angelo Gastaldi in his presentation on sustainability. “Plants and flowers are knowledge. Understanding them is understanding life. Historically as herbal medicines, today by chefs and mixologists.”
Definitely food for thought.
11. Salvatore Castiglione, the bartender at the forefront of all things floral and cocktail
We were also fortunate to meet Salvatore Castiglione, a bar consultant, who has been exploring the world of edible flowers and what they can bring to drinks for 15 years…
So when and why did you first start working with edible flowers?
Around 2010 I remember being intrigued by the fresh natural aroma of the rosemary flower. I was cooking with it and wanted to bring it into my drinks.
Was their a particular inspiration?
I was studying some old recipe books about how to extract the fragrance of flowers in cooking and decided to try to use it for drinks. I started to discover a lot of ingredients that had been forgotten. During the time of covid I had a lot of time to experiment. I was growing my own flowers and seeing what I could do with them.
Could you give us an example?
I wanted to make a cocktail based around one fruit, with zero waste. I infused the peel from figs with gin and water. I also made a soda with the leaves. And finally I created a syrup with the flowers. All from the fig tree. So this was a drink made just with one fruit and with zero waste.
And you work a lot with non-alcoholic drinks?
I have created a kind vermouth with saffron and various flowers, but no alcohol. I use ultrasound extraction to get maximum flavour, but water not spirit based. This technique means you get more flavour from the leaves and keeps the freshness of the flowers. It makes the base for a perfect for a non-alcoholic aperitif, but also works well with a little gin or vodka too.
What advice would you give to bartenders and people in general who want to start experimenting with edible flowers in their drinks?
A lot of people think that flowers don’t rally have a taste. But try different ones. You will be surpassed at how different they all are. Then substitute them for another ingredient. For instance, tonic water is made with quinine, but instead of that, for the drinks I am making for the special Flauer Alassio dinner I have made a tonic with begonia flowers. It gives you the same flavour as quinine but substituting fresh ingredients makes the drinks more interesting.
Any other advice?
Study, make a lot of research, because understanding edible flowers is a cultural thing.
You’ve been working with edible flowers for a long time, so you’re trailblazer, but do you think we will see this become more mainstream in our drinks?
For sure. I like, for example, to explain to my guests that the spicy quality of a drink I serve them is not from Tabasco but Szechuan pepper. They’re intrigued. It’s important to explain to them that this is a new world that they are experiencing.
And we were fortunate to enter this new world…
12. Three drinks from Salvatore Castiglione for a very special dinner
Salvatore Castiglione joined forces with chefs Giuseppe Ricchebuono Giuseooe and Marco Baglieri, both Michelin-starred, to create The landscape told on the plate and in the glass, a menu celebrating some extraordinary local ingredients, at a very special dinner to celebrate Alassio Flauer 2025.
Amongst the eight courses, three were beautifully paired with drinks from Salvatore.
The Gin Flauer (Be!Gin, citrus fortified wine, lime cordial and begonia tonic) perfectly contrasted with a dish of purple asparagus.
Mediterranean (fennel-infused vodka, turmeric, bitter orange leaf cordial and ginger beer) beautifully complimented the pasta with wild fennel.
And Floral Bitters (clove bitters, rose infusion and grapefruit soda) was exceptionally refreshing alongside some exquisite cod, turnips, clams and violets.
13. The essence of the rose in sparkling wine
At the dinner we were also very happy to meet the wonderful Antonia Dufour. The ultimate rose expert, she has been cultivating them with her husband Giacomo Torrente for many years at the family home in Gavi in the Italian countryside. And the skill with which she extracts their essence has led to a luxurious range of cosmetics and now to an equally luxurious rose syrup, created using an ancient tradition to extract the essence of the rose petals.
This syrup exudes the intense colour and scent of Antonia’s fresh rose petals carefully preserved in lemon juice and sugar.
And when mixed with a sparkling brut wine…
14. The Dufour à la Rose
An indulgent combination of the rose syrup and sparkling brut wine served in a flute rimmed with rose petal dust. Created by Silvia Parodi and Antonia Dufour herself, the Dufour à la Rose is another delicious example of how flowers can bring a whole new creativity to the world of mixed drinks.
We sampled Dufour à la Rose at Flauer Alassio and were absolutely smitten.
In fact, we were completely smitten with Flauer Alassio 2025. An exceptional event which we look forward to following in the years to come.
Find out more at flauer.it
