The Season of Broccoli: Beginnings and Endings

Lost in Translation: Life of a Japanese Girl in Italy

In March 2026, I arrived in Bra, a small town in the Piedmont region of Italy. Known as the birthplace of the ‘Slow Food’ movement, I’m here as a graduate student at the University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG), studying ‘Food Communication & Marketing’. I hope to chronicle my thoughts from my classes and daily life in a weekly diary format. 1. The Season of Broccoli One of the things I’ve already come to love about Bra is the ‘mercato’ (market) held three times a week across the town. Shortly after arriving in March, I asked a farmer at the market: "What is in season and delicious right now?" Her answer was simple: "Broccoli."

She recommended I use it to make pasta. I was a bit surprised.

Having been born and raised in Tokyo, I had never really thought about the seasonality of broccoli. To me, it was a vegetable always available at the supermarket—an ‘extra’ used mainly to add a pop of green to a school lunch box. However, in Italy, broccoli is a vegetable with a distinct season, typically from September to April. That night, I made broccoli pasta. When I posted a photo of this ‘broccoli-as-the-protagonist’ dish on Instagram, many of my friends in Japan reacted with surprise.

Seasonal ingredients are fresh. They grow in local soil and are harvested at their peak. Talk to the producers  because they have the best tips. As individuals, we can all support the local economy. This is not just about social value; it really is a joyful and delicious experience.

2. World Disco Soup Day One month later, the town was full of energy. It was the last Saturday of April, and the broccoli season was ending. We celebrated ‘World Disco Soup Day’. This is a global event where people play music and save vegetables from being wasted. This year, it fell on 25 April. This is also Liberation Day, a public holiday celebrating Italy’s freedom from the Nazi occupation.

It all started in a Berlin market This initiative began in 2012 at a market in Berlin, Germany. It was sparked by young people from the Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN). They made a massive pot of soup from vegetables destined for the bin to feed protesters. They chopped the vegetables to the beat of music. This style spread across the world. In the first year, it is said to have fed about 8,000 people. The magic of turning ‘Wasted’ into ‘Wonderful’ Students from the UNISG branch of SFYN organised the event in Bra. For them, this is the most important event of the year. The day before, they toured markets across the city to rescue unsold vegetables.

"At this time of year, there’s a lot of leftover broccoli. They get thrown away just because too many were harvested or because the green isn't perfectly vibrant, but the taste is excellent," they told me.

I stood beside them as they spoke. I could feel the broccoli season ending and the next season quietly beginning. They turned the rescued vegetables into four magnificent dishes: 1. Pasta sauce  2. Minestrone  3. Gazpacho  4. Salad

The guests were delighted and also surprised that the food was so delicious. The minestrone I had was a hearty dish with broccoli, leafy greens, carrots, potatoes and bread. It was packed with more vegetables than I could ever prepare by myself. It had a gentle, healthy taste that you rarely find even in restaurant lunches. The pasta was particularly memorable. It was provided for the event by ‘Wasted’, a project in Copenhagen started by UNISG alumni. They made the pasta from old bread, one of the most wasted foods in the world. I heard they also make ramen, which I would love to try someday.

3. Sharing the Same Soup The air was filled with a grand chorus of ‘Bella Ciao’. People enjoyed their meals, toasting with beer to the sound of DJ music. Friends hugged, and natural conversations started with elderly couples sitting nearby. There, I found a sense of joy and love that completely changed my idea of charity events. For them, reducing food waste is not just an environmental issue.

Choosing not to throw away ‘ugly’ vegetables shows care, ensuring that no one is excluded from society, including agricultural workers or migrants. The act of different people gathering around a single pot is, in itself, practising democracy.

‘Everyone can eat for free’—this wasn't just a soup kitchen. It felt like the very heart of the Italian community:

the belief that by eating the same food and singing the same songs, we become one.

For me, the ecology of ’Whole Foods’ is about reclaiming the wholeness of society and loving the process of life itself. This soup was a symbol of that.

‘Fill bellies, not bins’

Across the world, 30% of food is wasted, accounting for 6% of greenhouse gas emissions. But Disco Soup showed me that the solution can be realised in a way that is so joyful, delicious, and full of love. Using up local ingredients, savouring a season from start to finish, and sharing a table with others—my realisation that began with one head of broccoli led me to a bowl of soup that tastes of freedom.

Follow our journey @movimento.metropolitano.