New Menu Alert: Prosciutto

Our Newest MANO FORMATE Offering is Available now!

From the beginning (in 1997!), the girl & the fig, by direction and supervision of Executive Chef and President John Toulze, has been making our own in house charcuterie. After mastering the artisanal art of curing meats, Toulze took it another step, broadening his output under the name MANO FORMATE (made by hand). In 2011, Toulze took top honors with his Coppa at The Good Food Awards and continues to teach our other chefs so they can keep up with the production. Since the MANO FORMATE brand began, bacon, pancetta, prosciutto, guanciale, lonzo and salami products, are just a few of the products we have created and released.

It is in this spirit that we introduce our new MANO FORMATE Prosciutto. This particular offering was made by Chef Jeremy Zimmerman and has been almost a year in the making. "You put a lot into this," says Zimmerman, "and a year later you hope that it comes out right. Each one comes out a bit different," he adds.

The process begins with, you guessed it: PIGS! This particular pork is local and comes from Chico's historic Llano Seco Ranch. The healthy hogs are fed GMO-free vegetarian grains and legumes on confinement-free, zero-waste open pastures. 20 such swine were broke down to prosciutto cut (the hog's hind leg), salted and hung in a cellar to cure. "It's really a passion project," says Zimmerman. " It takes over 9 months, so in many ways, it's just like a baby."

Our MANO FORMATE Prosciutto is on the menu now at the girl & the fig. Come by and enjoy some of the batch while it's still here!