Exporting food and drink isn't simply a matter of shipping goods across borders. It means translating a landscape: making it readable, and therefore desirable, to people who have never been there.
On Thursday 8 October, in the heart of London’s Mayfair, that translation took physical form. Mercato Metropolitano opened its new corner dedicated to the “Io sono Friuli Venezia Giulia” (I am Friuli Venezia Giulia) project. And Mamerie was there, with its precisely crafted jars.
It was a clever exercise in synthesis, orchestrated by PromoTurismoFVG and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, using food not as an end in itself, but as a vocabulary for telling the story of a place.
The project: ingredients as ambassadors
The institutional strategy was clearly summed up at the inauguration: bringing the region’s finest food products to London helps build a story people can recognise. In this vision, the quality of the product becomes the real gateway for introducing the region to the world.
For Friulian specialities, the UK is a demanding market, saturated with stimuli. To stand out, you don’t need to raise your voice; you need identity. Mercato Metropolitano Mayfair, a space entirely devoted to genuine food and environmental sustainability, proved to be the perfect setting, precise down to the last detail. No folkloric clichés: only ingredients of the very highest quality, presented to an international audience.
Mamerie on stage: rigour and the land
This was a mosaic of Friulian flavours. It ranged from frico, Friuli’s signature cheese and potato dish and a proud emblem of its identity, to the bold fusion versions served during the evening. Within it, Mamerie’s role was the one that comes naturally to us: stripping away the superfluous.
We brought the rigour of our lab in Tavagnacco to the stalls of Mayfair. We shared the technical purity with which we treat fruit, our respect for the texture and integrity of vegetables, and the care we take over the aroma of truffle.
The public responded, not only by crowding into the space, but by truly engaging with the products. They wanted to understand where they come from, how they are made and the logic behind our supply chain.
Guests, audience and connections
The energy of the evening confirmed that the idea was the right one. Thursday was a moment of genuine exploration.
One telling detail showed the project’s power to build real bridges, connecting very different worlds: a delegation of Watford players attended the event. The English football club, closely linked to Udinese, took an active part in the FVG food tasting and in creating social media content for the evening. In doing so, they closed the circle between Friuli and England, in a dialogue made of people, sport and, of course, flavour.
Mamerie has laid a foundation stone in London. Solid, essential, unmistakably Friulian.
