Special online classes on Italian Cuisine

“The main commitment of projects like this one, or the Indian tour we made in February and the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, is spreading Italian food culture, our cooking techniques, our deep respect of raw materials and our bond with traditional recipes. This is the only way to fight italian sounding. Moreover, this event represent a chance to underline some important topics for the professional chef of the future”. 

Carlo Maria Ricci, ALMA Chef Ambassador

“I come from India and I decided to attend ALMA beacause ALMA is about cuisine, about food and because its concept and culture come from the Italian tradition. For me it was, it is and it will always be a gastronomical cultural exchange: I am able to contribute, to add value to my cuisine because I bring my experience and I want to take it back to my country and my family.
This vision is the the same we have for these classes: an opportunity to create a real cultural exchange”.

Binita Debnath, ALMA Graduate Ambassador

Pasta, a product for which Italy is renowned the world over, is an iconic preparation with roots in the country’s long, colourful and complex history as well as a key to better understanding it.

This module has been compiled with the intent of showing attendees the staggering success of such a deceivingly simple staple which has arrived on modern tables, practically unchanged, thanks to the perfecting of arts and crafts integrated in Italy’s vast manufacturing culture.

Needing no introduction, cheese and cold cuts feature prominently in many aspects of Italian Cuisine. What is about these products that makes them so appealing? How did they catalyse so much attention? How has their consumption and understanding changed over time?

With the desire to showcase Italy’s vast production of traditional and authentic cheese and cold cuts, the module aims at identifying them in their true form, shaped by local history, production processes and applications, reflected in centuries of artisanal know how.

Product and Culinary notions will intertwine, showing the category’s versatility within a realm ruled by the stringent rules dictated by Consortiums, regulations and traditions.

Olive groves dot the Italian landscape, resulting in uniquely biodiverse oils with roots spanning back in time. On the table, they are often accompanied by Balsamic Vinegar, a product linked to a small production area with unique traditions.

So different from each other, how have they become associated? Is this association always possible? What is that makes them so appealing and unlike any other? Through an in depth look at their identities, the module aims a shedding light the fundamental characteristics of each product, shaped by diverse histories and necessities.

Through a careful study of the production and consumption and extra virgin olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar, attendees will be provided with the tools to better understand and enjoy these product’s intrinsic values and characteristics.

Bread is a staple woven into the country’s long and complex history, shaped by a landscape and traditions that have given birth to a record-breaking number of traditional “pani”, diverse like reginal cuisines they were born into.

The module showcases the many facets of a product, food and ingredient always present on Italian tables, truly revered throughout Italian Cuisine and Culture.

The fundamental notions and principles at the core of Italian bread making, an art and skillset impossible to identify with one single product, provide a revealing experience aimed at contextualising staples that are, simultaneously, foods, icons and craft.

A brief conceptual journey through the global Pizza scene will highlight the many iterations of this easily recognisable and universally appealing dish. In Italy, on the other hand, the identity of pizza is clear and distinct, interwoven with historical events and the local production of some very specific products.

Clarifying what Pizza really is in its homeland, the module celebrates its true form and subsequent evolutions, contextualising its fame and approachability.

The fundamental notions and principles at the core of Italian pizza making, a codified art and skillset, create the backdrop to an immersive experience, allowing for a better understating of its history and the culture involved in making it so special.

Thanks to an approachability that easily deceive its inherent complexity and legacy, Gelato playfully crusades Made in Italy around the world with an appeal that seems to have no boundaries.

With a strong focus on simplicity and gelato’s undeniable Italian character, the module is aimed at providing the necessary notions to better understand and recognise real Italian gelato in all its forms and declinations.

By recounting the history and variety behind “La Gelateria Italiana”, a journey into these wonderful and enticing products will showcase their regional variations and ingredients, explaining why they are so easy to love and hard to identify.