In the 1960s, Fraternity Club director Dario Trevisi used to go with his family to a farm in Kembla Grange, where they would select a pig to turn into salami during winter.
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"I'd go out with my parents and was a big thing, and a lot of Italian families used to do that," he remembers.
"We'd take the pig back to someone's house, mix up the mince and make our salamis over this whole day and half process.
"It's a great childhood memory."
As winter ends - which means the salami hanging in cellars and garages of many European families around the Illawarra will be just about ready - Mr Trevisi and the other directors at the Fairy Meadow Italian club have decided to host the region's first salami-making competition.
Based on similar events held in Griffith and other towns, the event will celebrate the traditions that his parents' generation brought with them to Australia.
"We wanted to enhance the culture and history of our parents and the people before that," Mr Trevisi said.
He said the club recently celebrated its 70th anniversary, with the competition designed to keep the club a vibrant part of the community.
"These days Italian culture in Wollongong is still really strong, and the next generation are very keen to continue traditions," he said.
"A lot of my friends still make their own salami every year, and they all want to enter to see if they've got the best."
Fraternity Club head chef Mauri Villella, who also makes his own salami each year, said he thought the practice of curing meats and making food from scratch was enjoying a resurgence.
"It is definitely more popular now, and it's not just Italian people - people from all over Europe, and Australian want to do it too," he said.
"I do it with friends, we get together with friends and family and make a day of it.
"A lot of us in jest have been saying 'oh, my salami is the best' or 'oh yours is good' and we have these tastings or parties at home, so we thought, hang on a minute - let's make a competition out of this.
"It's just a good thing to do, make something from scratch and watch it go from a raw product to something you're proud of."
Mr Villella said the trick to good salami was in the quality of the ingredients and the curing process, with the best salami having a good texture, as well as a good taste.
"There's a few secrets in there when it comes to the balance and the drying process," he said.
"It's also got to be correctly seasoned and mixed, so all the meat is coated and can cure properly. And then you can't have too much wind, humidity, and the right balance of heat and cool air."
"In the old ways it was all about the feel of it - or getting don one of the salamis to see what it's like about a few weeks - but these days we've got these little readers to tell us about the humidity in the room."
To celebrate the salami-tasting competition on September 10 when the winner is announced, the venue is hosting a salami lunch, where patrons can enjoy cured meats as part of the fare.
Mr Trevisi said he hoped this first event would be the precursor to an annual salami competition for the Illawarra.
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
