Monday, 14 November 2023, marked the start of World Italian Cuisine Week, an initiative that celebrates Italy’s gastronomic heritage.
The calendar of this year’s Week of Italian Cuisine is very rich in initiatives ranging from distribution in large retail chains to e-commerce, from meetings between producers and importers of Italian products to scientific seminars. The program also includes professional wine, cheese and oil tastings organized in cooperation with Italian consortia, as well as tasting menus in certain Italian restaurants and pizzerias that have joined the initiative.
Also, one part is dedicated to young people, with “It’s time for pizza” courses held by famous Italian chefs in hotel management schools in Serbia and socializing, thanks to a charity dinner based on Italian dishes in cooperation with UNHCR, intended for refugees in Serbia.
The program of the World Italian Cuisine Week included “Delicacy Monday”, a charity dinner at KC Grad prepared by chef Francesco Nicolai in cooperation with UNHCR, CRP and the Hospitality and Tourism School, and restaurants “Endorphin”, “La Cucina”, “Pizza Pomodoro”, “Saporito” and “Insolita” presented their tasting menus dedicated to the Week of Italian Cuisine. Last night, Chef Diego Bongiovanni met with the students of the College of Hotel Management, and then a gala dinner was held at the Italian Embassy, prepared by Chef Daniele Moretti.
Tonight there is a wine tasting at the Palace of Italy and the event “It’s time for pizza”, free sharing of pizza in three pizzerias in Belgrade – “Al Forno”, “Pietra” and “Trattoria Campania”. Thursday is dedicated to lectures and workshops on mozzarella made from buffalo milk, olive oil and Parmesan cheese, and the main event on Friday is the “Made in Italy” Fair, which is organized by the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce in the Hotel Majestic in Belgrade.
At the end of last week, at the presentation of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, the Ambassador of Italy to Serbia, Luka Gori, pointed out that Italian cuisine is a symbol of quality on a global level.
– Our goal is to raise awareness of innovative and sustainable Italy in the agri-food sector as well. Spreading knowledge about original ‘Made in Italy’ products also means fighting against the ‘Italian sounding’ phenomenon and providing accurate information to consumers about the nutritional values of our delicacies – Ambassador Gori concluded.
The initiative is organized by the Embassy of Italy in cooperation with members of the Italian System in Serbia (ICE Agency, Institute for Culture, Chamber of Italian-Serbian Businessmen and Confindustria Serbia).
