What do white truffles, porcini mushrooms, carnaroli rice, red wine and even Nutella have in common? Apart from being on most people’s dream food lists, they are all from the stunning region of Piedmont in northern Italy, where lush rolling hills and ancient towns built around cobblestone market squares show the beauty of a land unaffected by modern times. It is among the uniform rows of grape vines and hazelnut trees in Mombaruzzo that you’ll find La Villa, the hotel and cooking school where Australian chef Martin Teplitzky – son of cooking great Gretta Anna Teplitzky – shares the secrets to perfect hand-rolled pasta, woodfired pizza and slow-braised meats in red wine.

“Our guests want to cook dishes they have never made before and taste flavours that are new to them,” says Martin, who worked at iconic Berowra Waters Inn near Sydney before moving to Europe almost 25 years ago.

“The people of Piedmont are more reserved than other Italians, yet extremely friendly,” says Martin of his adopted countrymen. Could this be to do with the fact that they live and breathe the slow-food movement, enjoying local, seasonal produce washed down with sublime wines? Everything is made locally, from the Robiola di Roccaverano goat’s cheese that’s eaten with freshly picked walnuts to the bresaola that’s traded straight from the farmgate.

While Piedmont has been on wine lovers’ radars for some time, there’s a new breed of connoisseur falling under the spell of this bountiful region. “Porcini grow wild and autumn is the best time to buy them from the market, where each one can weigh up to half a kilo,” says Martin, who likes to roast them whole with butter and serve with a sauce of local Barolo wine. “Some of the best grappa in Italy comes from here, too, and Mombaruzzo is the home of amaretti biscuits.” Also on menus you’ll find locally reared beef, very low in fat with a unique taste. “It’s like nothing I ever ate in Australia,” says Martin. Try it lightly seared and served with a creamy gorgonzola sauce, or raw as carne crudo with just a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.

‘White diamonds’, however, are the jewel in Piedmont’s crown. During hunting season, every village has a truffle fair where these elusive fungi are venerated, tasted and auctioned. The International Truffle Fair in Alba is the biggest celebration of them all, with truffle madness reigning from October to November. “The beauty of white truffles is that you don’t really have to do anything with them,” says Martin. “Shave them over pasta tossed with butter, salt and pepper.”

It would be easy to lose each day by the pool at La Villa, but few can resist trips to the produce market in the nearby spa town of Acqui Terme, navigating abundant crates of cherries, stonefruit and tomatoes in summer, and towers of garlic and porcini in cooler months. “There’s a market every day of the week within a few kilometres of the hotel,” says Martin.

While it seems there could be no reason to leave this garden of Eden, Martin plans to trade in European winters for Australia’s summer to open a new cooking school this year. He may have to swap Nutella for Vegemite, but the ethos is the same: “food that is synonymous with where you are”.