Moreno Cured Meats Factory

Few kitchens manage to transform humble and forgotten ingredients into superb and noble dishes like those at Ristorante Moreno. The cuisine at Ristorante Moreno, awarded as "Best Restaurant" by the Italian Restaurants search engine, masters the art of presenting simple and traditional products in a genuine way, rediscovering the ancient tastes and flavors typical of the Faeto region.

The charming, warm, and rustic atmosphere, the cordial service directed by owner Ciro Moreno, and the authenticity of the dishes crafted by chef Michelina D’Onofrio make this restaurant an oasis of tradition and pleasure for all fine palate gourmands.

The main secret of Ristorante Moreno’s cuisine, appreciated by the most authoritative experts (Guida Veronelli, L’Espresso, Ristoranti d’Italia, Euroguida, to name a few), is the undisputed quality of the ingredients used, starting with the homemade appetizers: Prosciutto di Faeto, Capocollo, Spianata, Soppressata, Salsiccia, Guanciale, Lardo, Pancetta tesa or arrotolata, and Filetto.

The selection of first courses is vast and varied, offering customers rustic flavors of game and legumes, as well as refined delights with truffles and porcini mushrooms: orecchiette with wild boar ragù, three-finger cavatelli with hare ragù, cavatelli and beans, legume soup, pan cotto, Faeto-style pizzarelle, and also truffled half-moons, porcini ravioli, and many other specialties of Faeto cuisine. The second courses mainly consist of grilled meats, cooked instantly to ensure the freshness and genuineness of the product: Black Pig, Wild Boar, Veal, Lamb, Black Pig Sausage, Sliced Beef with Porcini or Arugula.

A specialty of Ristorante Moreno is the Black Pig. This rare variety lives in the only farm in Faeto, that of Salumificio Moreno. Thanks to the project for the recovery of the Black Pig, promoted by the Comunità Montana dei Monti Dauni Meridionali in collaboration with the CNR of Lesina, this indigenous breed has been reintroduced, producing high-quality cured meats processed and distributed in Faeto exclusively by Moreno.

The pigs are raised in the Faeto countryside, in the locality of Piano Maggese/Scavo, using a biological system, outdoors, and in a free-range state. The Black Pig, once very common in the Subappennino hills, is characterized by its stature, robustness, and frugality. Resistant to low temperatures thanks to the numerous bristly hairs covering it, it spends the whole day plowing the ground. Today, it feeds on roots and berries found in the over 5 hectares made available by Salumificio Moreno, with its diet supplemented with corn in winter and ground feed in summer.

The processing of Moreno’s prosciutti and cured meats is carried out using traditional methods, respecting the Faeto salami-making tradition, and is concentrated between October and April, months that guarantee optimal temperature and humidity levels for the aging process. The humidity brought by the Celone River flowing at the foot of the village and the “fineness” of the mountain air (866 meters above sea level) ensure an ideal aging process. Moreno's over twenty years of experience has taught that the secret to producing excellent cured meats lies in the exclusive use of fresh, high-quality, nationally sourced Italian meat.