Daniele Oberto on why Alba’s fassone cows produce the sweetest beef

"Yes, and it's so different here. I don't live in a big city. Alba [in Piedmont, Italy] is a small town known for its culture and wine. It is a Unesco heritage site. The terroir is famous for white truffles and nebbiolo grapes used to make Barolo and Barbaresco. And only in that area is a kind of meat called fassone from a breed of cattle [native to] Piedmont. It has only been genetically modified by nature. It has only one third of the fat of other cows, making the meat very lean - even [leaner] than chicken. It's different from other meat because of the fat."

"When customers eat meat, they usually taste the fat. But fassone meat is very sweet and clean, like tuna. It has a long, lingering taste. Fassone eat grass. During the summer, there isn't enough grass [in the foothills], so for three months, they roam up the mountains and farmers must collect enough grass for the cows to eat during the winter, which can last until March. The meat is tougher, but it's good because you're eating muscle that has been exercised. If it's tender, the muscle hasn't been used.

"Traditionally, fassone are raised on small farms with 20 to 25 animals. Each farmer knows the story of each cow from the beginning of its life to the end. Each has a name, and they are treated well. They don't see the cows as money."

"My father started his butchery on Christmas Day, 1975, in the centre of Alba. I worked with him for 14 years, from the age of 20. But six years ago I felt I had to close the shop to improve my career. My passion is restaurants; my customers are restaurants. My mission to promote fassone [through artisan butchery, Macelleria Oberto] started about 10 years ago, because I found when I ate in nice restaurants, they weren't serving quality meat. It's an unknown breed and product. So I was determined to work with farmers to find customers for their meat. I work with 300 to 400 farmers."