Agritourism in Sardinia – Life and food in the countryside

Even though Sardinia's beaches, sea and largely unspoilt nature never fail to delight holidaymakers, the icing on the cake is a trip inland to enjoy a "Sardinian feast" at an agriturismo. Here, shepherds cook at their huts and farmers cook at their farms, producing everything from pork to wine themselves! However, you have to know the right places to go, because as in any herd, there are also black sheep among the agritourists...

And politics is to blame for this. We all know how it is: politicians constantly want to prove their usefulness to the electorate, and so they come up with ideas. These are always well-intentioned, but unfortunately often poorly thought out. I won't give any examples here. We all know how it is.

Brussels came up with a really good idea for helping the impoverished rural population in Sardinia. The magic word was ‘agritourism’! This project allows farmers and shepherds to cater for tourists. It is extremely tax-efficient and exempt from most of the regulations that apply to restaurants. However, in order not to disadvantage normal restaurants, the food and drink on offer must follow the principle that only what has been produced on the premises itself may be offered.

So: no Coca-Cola, no Pellegrino mineral water, no shop-bought spaghetti, meat and cheese only from our own production.

It was a good concept, which initially achieved exactly what it set out to do. Small family businesses sprang up, far away from tourism, often in truly remote corners of the country. There you have the Italian mama with her rolling pin in the kitchen, papa roasting the famous Sardinian suckling pig in the fireplace, and the children serving and doing the work around them.  As there are three ‘archaic’ occupational groups, there are also three different ‘menus’. So you can go on your agritourism trip to a farmer in the countryside, a shepherd in the mountains or a fisherman by the sea.

A really good concept! Far too good not to be abused! Because the tax advantages were so attractive, free riders soon joined the ranks of producers. They had never held a hoe in their hands, never milked a sheep, never pressed their own wine and, of course, never cast a fishing net. The well-intentioned concept degenerated into a tax-saving model for Karlchen Klever and Gaio Tizio Sempronio. So today, you have to know exactly where to go if you really want to eat authentic Sardinian food.

So where to go? – As a rule of thumb, most providers near the coast are fake agritourism businesses. You can recognise them by the fact that there are no pigs, sheep, chickens or any of the other animals that make up a Sardinian farm grazing around the house. You also won't see any vineyards, fruit and vegetable plantations or anything that ‘smells’ of agriculture, fishing or grazing. If you eat there, you'll also be served bottled drinks, frozen food and other low-cost products. (Of course, the ‘rule of thumb’ does not apply to fishermen. They inevitably have to work near the coast.)

I am constantly annoyed that this abuse is tolerated by the supervisory authorities, because ultimately it makes it difficult for honest restaurateurs to maintain their restaurant culture, which is quality-conscious and refrains from using mass-produced food.

But now let's eat! Next time, I will describe what is served at the table and how shepherds, farmers and fishermen differ.

With a Sardinian ‘Adiosu’, I bid you farewell for today.

Joachim Waßmann