Week of Italian Cuisine in the world: ALMA events across the lands, from America to Far East
Promoting Made in Italy, boosting our food and wine heritage and bringing Italian culinary culture abroad are the objectives of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, now at its eighth edition, an international event with initiatives and programmes worldwide involving institutions, embassies, consulates, Italian culture Institutes and local organizations. From the beginning ALMA has been active among the players contributing to the achievement of these objectives in favour of Italian Cuisine. Indeed it part of the event, with a November 2023 programme rich of masterclasses, cooking shows, contests and official events, from South America to China.
A journey through diverse culinary cultures, different visions of cuisine, to bring beyond the borders not only Italy’s multifaceted cuisine but also the wine and food heritage of the territory of Parma, its specialities and typical raw materials, and its own personality found in many of its most traditional dishes the Food Valley. From Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to pasta, from tomato to dry cured Ham, there is so much of the spirit of Parma in the “trunk” that the Cooking School of Colorno carried around during these travels around the world.
Thanks to a network of collaborations setup from its inception with the most renowned international cooking schools and to the official relationships established through its prestigious brand, ALMA was part of some of the most important meetings of this annual event.
SAUDI ARABIA
An exclusive event on November 23 at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh, when ALMA, together with Royal Protocol, has organized “Meet the Excellence & the Italian Taste Competition,” under the patronage of the Italian Embassy in Riyadh and Italian Trade Agency, in collaboration with Sitaf.
HONG KONG
Chef Mario Marini, ALMA’s Ambassador, local marketing consultant for the Municipality of Parma, and owner of the Bistrot La Corale Verdi, lead a series of travelling encounters with Giacomo Bullo, the School’s Communication Manager and sous chef Elena Zeng,
The students of the International Culinary Institute (ICI) and the School of Cuisine and Tourism of the Honk Kong Polytechnic University competed on the theme of risotto. The judges were the Italian Consul Carmelo Ficarra, chef Marini, and ALMA graduate, now 1-Michelin-starred chef in Hong Kong, Antimo Maria Merone. Mei Ching Li: the winner’s prize was the enrolment to ALMA’s course for international students.
The exclusive Foreign Correspondents’ Club, the journalists’ club established during the Second World War in the heart of Hong Kong financial district, was the backdrop to showcase the menu inspired by the Italian Food Valley and its specialities. Created by Chef Marini, it delighted the guests of the Gala dinner organized by the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong. Marini also led the activities that took place in two special locations. The first one was the City Super, a chain of luxury supermarkets in Hong Kong and Japan, where the chef recorded some video recipes with related pills of Italian gastronomic culture prepared by ALMA’s Communication manager Giacomo Bullo. The series of meetings in Hong Kong, ended with a masterclass entirely dedicated to Trofie with Pesto held in the second location, the showroom of Boffi/Depadova, a luxury interior design company. The event was set up by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and it included hands-on demonstrations, historical notes and curiosities.
Introduced by the Consulate, ALMA then visited the International Culinary Institute, where over 40 students attended the School’s presentation and the Masterclass dedicated to risotto held by Chef Mario Marini.
SOUTH KOREA
Finally, the masterclass “Benessere con Gusto” (Wellbeing with Taste) was held at the Italian Embassy in Seoul in collaboration with Woosong University, the latest addition to ALMA’s international network. The class was inspired by the cuisine of the Liguria region, especially dedicated to pesto. ALMA’s Chef Ambassador Francesco Ghilardi was cooking. He graduated at the School and is now Assistant Professor of F&B and Food Science at the Paul Bocuse Institute of Woosong University.
INDIA
ALMA’s cooperation with the greatest and most prestigious cooking schools in the world does not only mean laying the foundations for new collaborations, but ensuring that Italian gastronomic culture actually reaches those, both students and teachers, who are sensitive and receptive to the value and significance of authenticity of raw materials, of a recipe, of identity.
And with this spirit, during the tour in India, ALMA met with the students of the Indian Culinary Institute of Noida, of the Culinary Art School, of Goenka University – Le Cordon Bleu Campus and the Sheila Raheja Institute of Hotel Management, from Mumbai to New Delhi.
The students of the various institutes attended the masterclasses held by ALMA Chef Ambassadors Alessandra Rubini and Daniela Antoniotti on Italian cuisine and products, with tastings and hands-on activities. The students of the schools appreciated particularly the practice lesson in discovering and making one of the Parma’s cuisine glorious classics: tortelli d’erbetta, the ricotta and chard raviolis.
On the occasion of the event “Aperitivo Italiano”, scheduled by the Consulate of Italy in India at the prestigious Ice Factory Ballard Estate in Mumbai, ALMA had a chance to put its culinary art at the service of official guests and stakeholders as it described and presented iconic products of the our regions, such as Parmigiano Reggiano cheese or Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. The Indian Chamber of Chamber of Commerce for Italy was partner to this initiative.
Opening the evening, Chef Alessandra Rubini presented ALMA’s vision on topics related to personal nutrition and wellbeing; she then held a masterclass on Italian risotto and on serving an aperitif.
CHILE, PERU AND BOLIVIA
A strategic collaboration between schools and institutions has facilitated a series of events that took place in Chile, Peru and Bolivia during the SCIM. A series of initiatives on the subject of “At the table with Italian Cuisine, Wellbeing with Taste” was proposed by the ITA Office in Santiago, coordinating with the Italian Embassies in Santiago, Lima and La Paz and in collaboration with the School of Gastronomy of the DUOC-UC Technical Institute of Santiago, the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola in Lima, and the Universidad del Valle in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The topic of the initiatives focused on the importance of the Mediterranean diet. ALMA was represented by Chef Ambassador Anna Ciccarone.
The week started with the awards given to two young Chilean students at the Embassy in Santiago. They received a scholarship offered by ICE Santiago, to attend an advanced course of regional Italian cuisine at ALMA. Afterwards, there was a cocktail inspired by the theme of “Living together, sustainability and innovation” prepared by Chef Ciccarone. The following day she was also in charge of the training called “La cocina italiana candidata a Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO“, for 40 students of the DUOC Institute, and “La merienda tradicional italiana”, a lab with 10 young people of the PANAUT Association, at the DUOC-UC Institute that hosts students coming from different neighbourhoods of the capital. The recipe prepared was: Beetroot Risotto, Malvasia and Parmigiano Reggiano Sauce.
The programme continued on in Peru, with training activities in Lima, in collaboration with the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, where the Chef held two Masterclasses on fresh Italian pasta for the students of the Peruvian Institute, followed by a tasting of recipes on various types of pasta from north to south.
