Yesterday in Washington, with a dinner hosted by the Ambassador of Italy to the United States, Mariangela Zappia, at Villa Firenze, the series of over fifty events organized by Italy\u2019s diplomatic-consular network, the Italian Cultural Institutes, and Italian Trade Agency offices in the United States began to celebrate the ninth annual Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, themed \u201cMediterranean Diet and Recipes from our Roots: Health and Tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ambassador Zappia stated, \u201cThis year again, the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World represents a key moment in our strategy to promote Italy in the United States. Italian cuisine is not just food or a recipe book, but a set of social practices, habits, and gestures; it is a central element of our identity, which is why we are advocating for Italian cuisine\u2019s recognition as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Promoting Italian cuisine also means supporting Italian restaurateurs, industry operators, and our agri-food companies, which export products to the U.S. worth over 7 billion dollars annually, as well as supporting our tourism industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
The evening hosted by the Ambassador featured a completely bipartisan cross-section of Washington during a crucial moment in American politics. Whether Democrat or Republican, of this administration or the next, everyone loves coming to the Residence of the Italian Ambassador in Washington to enjoy the best of Italian food and wine. Gastronomy, elegance, and conviviality at their finest. Michelin-starred Chef Giancarlo Morelli created a special menu for the occasion, blending tradition with innovation and using top-quality Italian products, thanks in part to collaboration with the company Riso Buono and the Franciacorta Consortium.<\/p>\n
The events scheduled across the United States in the coming days aim to celebrate the richness and variety of Italian culinary traditions, with particular emphasis on the deep connection between Italian flavors and their places of origin. From Washington to New York, Los Angeles to Miami, Boston to San Francisco, and also Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Detroit, Charlotte, Tampa, Austin, the events will range from Master Classes led by renowned Italian chefs to events involving students, industry professionals, and Italian cuisine enthusiasts. These initiatives will be carried out in collaboration with agri-food companies, producer consortia, Italian chefs and restaurateurs, universities, journalists and influencers, and traditional partners of the Week, such as the Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Italian Academy of Cuisine), the Associazione Ambasciatori del Gusto (Ambassadors of Taste Association), and ALMA (the international school of Italian cuisine), to name a few.<\/p>\n
Below is the complete program of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the United States.<\/p>\n
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WEEK OF ITALIAN CUISINE IN THE WORLD<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Mediterranean Diet and Recipes from our Roots: Health and Tradition<\/em><\/p>\n The program in the United States<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n November 18 \u2013 24, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n BEFORE THE WEEK<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n BOSTON \u2013 November 7, 2024 \u2013 Study tours at Eataly<\/strong><\/p>\n Italian cooking school in Italian for middle school students in Boston. The event is part of the \u201cStudy Tours at Eataly\u201d series, promoted by the Consulate General, with the aim of promoting education on correct nutrition, the values of the Mediterranean Diet and its positive effects on health.<\/p>\n PHILADELPHIA \u2013 <\/strong>November 9-15, 2024 – 9th Italian Cuisine week QUIZ<\/strong><\/p>\n A Social Media challenge to discover the origin and the secrets of the traditional cuisine of the Abruzzo region.<\/p>\n WASHINGTON \u2013 November 13, 2024 – Exclusive dinner at Villa Firenze<\/strong><\/p>\n A culinary journey prepared by Chef Giancarlo Morelli (restaurant Pomiroeu<\/em>), in collaboration with \u201cRiso Buono\u201d and Consorzio Franciacorta.<\/p>\n By invitation only.<\/p>\n NEW YORK \u2013 November 13, 2024 – \u201cIngredients\/Ingredienti. <\/strong>I segreti della cucina italiana. <\/strong>Preserving traditions. How Italian immigrants in the USA maintain the Mediterranean diet\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The \u201cIngredients\/Ingredienti. The secrets of Italian cuisine\u201d is organized at the Italian Cultural Institute in collaboration with Prof. Annamaria Colao, holder of the UNESCO-Federico II Chair of Naples (PO of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery). The series focuses on individual ingredients, in order to promote the grammar of Italian cuisine and the source of its excellence, thanks to its extraordinary biodiversity and \u201csustainable\u201d processes. For this specific event, on the occasion of SCIM, there will be speeches by Mark Bittman, NY Times<\/em> food columnist and Columbia professor, Erica Di Giovancarlo, ICE Director, Roberta De Plano and Berardo Paradiso of the NY Cuisine Academy and chef Fabrizio Facchini of Slow Food Chef Alliance. TBC again Lisa Ackerman, Executive Director of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, and Silvana Mangione, Deputy Secretary General of the General Council of Italians Abroad (CGIE) for English-speaking countries. Davide Ippolito (Il Newyorkese<\/em>) will moderate the event.<\/p>\n WASHINGTON \u2013 November 15, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n Newrishing Spaces – Architectural Innovations in Rome organized by the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington. Professor Lavinia Fici Pasquina of the Catholic University of America and her students will present their projects created at the intersection of food, sustainability, and design. The meeting will highlight how architecture can respond to the urgent challenges of our time.<\/p>\n NEW YORK \u2013 November 15, 2024 – Ingredients\/Ingredienti. The secrets of Italian cuisine. Recipes in the kitchen, recipes for life. Presentation of the book Grandpa’s Recipes and Memories, a Mediterranean lifestyle<\/em> by Francesca Di Matteo<\/strong><\/p>\n The \u201cIngredients\/Ingredienti. The secrets of Italian cuisine” is organized at the Italian Cultural Institute in collaboration with Prof.\u00a0Annamaria Colao, holder of the UNESCO-Federico II Chair of Naples\u00a0(PO of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery). The series focuses on individual ingredients in order to promote the grammar of Italian cuisine and the source of its excellence, thanks to its extraordinary biodiversity and \u201csustainable\u201d processes. On the occasion of the SCIM, the book Grandpa’s Recipes and Memories, a Mediterranean lifestyle<\/em> (Graus Edizioni, 2024) by Francesca Di Matteo will be presented. Like all grandparents, Grandpa Angelo always had a lot to tell and teach. Born in Italy, he emigrated to America to build his own future. His was not a simple journey but he faced it with determination, a quality that has always distinguished him. This, therefore, is not a simple book of memories, but a true legacy of Grandfather Angelo. The recipes, to be considered hybrid due to the great Italian-American cultural influence, represent the great culinary tradition that, with great passion, the Iovine family continues to carry forward. It\u2019s not just ingredients and preparations, it\u2019s a real lifestyle. Angelo Iovine\u2019s Mediterranean lifestyle. The author will talk about it.<\/p>\n DETROIT \u2013 November 17, 2024 – Mediterranean Diet & Heritage Cuisine, health and tradition<\/strong><\/p>\n This year\u2019s theme aims to showcase Italian cuisine by highlighting its traditions and the recognized role of the Mediterranean diet in promoting health in the context of a healthy, balanced, and sustainable lifestyle. Cinema, food and traditions will be combined in an event that will also recall the roots tourism program. The film Big Night<\/em>, in which the characters struggle between insisting on authentic Italian cuisine and making the cuisine more adapted to modern palates, will be shown. The film explores the link between food, culture, and identity, highlighting the tension between tradition and modernity, and the viewing will be accompanied by dishes linked to the film. There will also be a \u201cpot luck\u201d aspect, that is, guests are asked to bring a dish from their traditional food to share with the other participants.<\/p>\n LOS ANGELES \u2013 November 17, 2024 – ITALIAN EXCELLENCE GALA & AWARDS<\/strong><\/p>\n Annual gala of the local Chamber of Commerce. Presentation of a menu curated by Sicilian chef Elena D\u2019Amico in collaboration with chef Luigi Fineo, in the presence of a delegation of food and drink companies from Sicily and other regions of southern Italy led by the \u201cItalian Fancy Food Brokers\u201d organization.<\/p>\n CHARLOTTE \u2013 November 17, 2024 –<\/strong> Let\u2019s prepare the Piadina<\/strong><\/p>\n Cooking class in Italian for the preparation of piadina with children from the Italian school and Casa della cultura Italiana. The aim of the initiative is to involve young students in learning about traditional Italian food through its preparation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n DURING THE WEEK<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n NOVEMBER 18th<\/sup> <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n WASHINGTON \u2013 Presentation of the book<\/strong> We reap what we sow<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n We are pleased to present the incredible adventure of the Italian entrepreneur Cristina Brizzolari Guidobono Cavalchini, who created \u201cRiso Buono.\u201d The author will converse with Alex Schroeder (@devourdc).<\/p>\n Registration: Invitation and RSVP<\/a><\/p>\n BOSTON \u2013 Roots cuisine<\/strong><\/p>\n Festival of Italian Creativity in Boston: as part of the Festival, an event dedicated to the theme of roots cuisine, between health and tradition, with tasting of a roots dish dedicated to the Basilicata region and video link with the \u201cRoots in 2024\u201d event underway that day in Matera. In collaboration with ALMA, International School of Haute Cuisine<\/p>\n DETROIT \u2013 A real Italian experience<\/strong><\/p>\n The collaboration between the Consulate and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen has led to the development of a menu linked to Italian traditions, the Mediterranean diet and the balance of seasonal foods, so as to be able to offer to the approximately 400-600 guests of the city\u2019s soup kitchen a delicious and truly Italian meal. Aimed not only at the homeless but also at numerous families who increasingly have to turn to this free canteen, the Consulate staff will cook and pack meals for around 400-600 people, to which around 150 takeaway lunches will be added.<\/p>\n LOS ANGELES \u2013 Discover Italy in a pan’ino with Alessandro Frassica and Nancy Silverton<\/strong><\/p>\n Inaugural event of the ninth edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World in Los Angeles. Cooking show by Chefs Alessandro Frassica and Nancy Silverton on the preparation of Italian gourmet sandwiches, which promote regional excellence in the food and wine sector.<\/p>\n MIAMI- Mediterranean Diet and Recipes from our Roots: Health and Tradition- opening event<\/strong><\/p>\n Opening event of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World 2024 at the Italian Cultural Institute in Miami. Presentation of the book by journalist Gerardo Antelmo Discovering Italian gems in Florida<\/em> \u2013 a publication on the best authentically Italian restaurants in Florida \u2013 followed by a panel on the Mediterranean diet with Chef Arcangelo Dandini, ambassador of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World 2024 in Miami, and with local restaurateurs of Italian cuisine.<\/p>\n