This year, we celebrate the 7th edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, an initiative that runs across the world with the support and participation of the Italian consular and diplomatic network, and that involves local Italian culinary realities, as well as some of Italy’s own chefs, agro-food businesses, restaurants and culinary education institutions.
The “Week” wants to be a way to place one of Italy’s most loved excellences in the spotlight, at the same time, across the globe, with a series of initiatives, events and offers inspired by a theme that changes every year, but that always has the same key goal: “showcasing Italy and the Italian taste in the world” and “promoting Italian culinary traditions and food-and-wine connoisseurship as a distinctive trait of Italian identity and culture.”
The first edition of the initiative ran in 2016, and focused on the theme of food’s integration with all the elements we consider pillars of Italianità: art, music, language, cinema, fashion and design, but also science and technology. In 2019, the focus shifted to health and tradition, and how they meet in Italy with the Mediterranean diet, an expression of proper nutrition, a balanced lifestyle and sustainability for the environment and health. Last year, in 2021, the theme was Tradition and Perspectives of Italian Cuisine: Awareness and Enhancement of Food Sustainability.
This year, the topic at the center of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World is Conviviality, Sustainability and Innovation: The Ingredients of Italian Cuisine for the Health of People and the Protection of the Planet which, as pointed out by the Consul General of Italy in Los Angeles, Silvia Chiave, is “a title that emphasizes the themes of conviviality, of our right to pleasure, of a healthy Italian diet, sustainable for both people and the planet. But also focuses on innovation based on our territory, our products and our people, on relationships and on the traditional skills that make Italy’s craftsmanship an example for the world.”
Although the themes change every year, the goal remains the same: making Italian agri-food excellence known around the world. In fact, the event – which this year is taking place in Los Angeles from November 14 to 20 – has increasingly established itself as one of La Farnesina’s flagship initiatives to promote the best of Italy’s food and wine production and traditions. The event proved to be an effective tool for integrated promotion and is considered one of the pillars of the Made in Italy internationalization strategy outlined in the Export Pact.
As said, three are the keywords of this year’s edition, sustainability, innovation and conviviality: while most of us are familiar with the first two, we may spend some time on the last, “conviviality.” Indeed, this is an old word of the Italian language, one that, as most of those that form our beautiful idiom, comes directly from Latin. For our forefathers, a convivium was a banquet, a meal shared with others, but also the people who shared that meal with one another: the very etymology of conviviality, then, brings together two ideas, that of “food” and that of “togetherness.” And when you think about the way Italians enjoy eating together, about the way they consider food a way to bond with one another, but also to show affection and make others feel welcome, the importance of conviviality becomes all the more evident. In Italy, conviviality is more than sharing food, it is an act of acceptance, of love, of respect. It is a way of enjoying life together; it is a real value, that goes hand in hand with the centrality of human relationships, from family to friendship, that makes up so much of the country’s social fabric.
The presence of conviviality, along with two key and contemporary ideas like innovation and sustainability, shows how this year’s Week of Italian Cuisine in the World wants to merge together modernity and tradition, but also the mind and heart of our cuisine.
With its masterclasses, workshops, exhibitions, films, conferences, and gala evenings, and with more than 8,000 events organized in more than 100 countries in the last 6 editions, the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World established itself as one of the flagship initiatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to promote the best of Made in Italy abroad, with a special focus on the Italian food supply chain.
The Consulate General of Italy, together with the Italian Cultural Institute and the Italian Trade Agency of Los Angeles, will celebrate this new edition with a series of events involving key players in the sector.
Eataly Los Angeles in Century City will promote basic Italian ingredients and toppings used to create authentic Italian pizza, by offering it at a discounted price.
When Food is the Star is a special event organized by ITTV Forum & Festival along with the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles, under the patronage of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles and the collaboration of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium. On November the 14th, the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles and ITTV Forum & Festival will present a screening of Gli Amigos by Paolo Genovese, a journey into the territory of origin and production of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, starring Stefano Fresi and chef Massimo Bottura. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion titled When Food is the Protagonist, exploring the importance of food in the audiovisual industry. Moderated by journalist Valentina Martelli, the conversation will feature chef, producer, and Brand Ambassador of Parmigiano Reggiano in the USA Michele Casadei Massari, executive producer Jeremy Spiegel, and Head Chef of Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, Mattia Agazzi. A special tasting session of Parmigiano Reggiano will conclude the program thanks to the collaboration of the Consortium of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
On November 14th and 15th, the Italian Cultural Institute and Lingua Viva will promote cooking classes for students of Italian at the Eataly Store, which will be accompanied by an educational program created by the Valter Longo Foundation. The foundation is a non-profit organization created by professor Longo, with the aim of lengthening people’s lives by supporting an overall healthier lifestyle from childhood, and throughout the entire life cycle. At the heart of the foundation’s mission is the promotion of healthy eating habits, which can slow down the onset of illnesses and diseases caused by or related to aging, as well as chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, autoimmune diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. The founder and president of the foundation is Valter Longo, an Italian-American gerontology and biological sciences professor, and the director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California-Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, in Los Angeles. Longo, who was born in Genoa, is also the director of the Longevity and Cancer Program at the Institute of Molecular Oncology (IFOM), in Milan.
For those who love wine and a bit of narrative, a wine-tasting and storytelling event will be held at the iconic Casa Romantica of San Clemente, organized in collaboration with the Università delle Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo and its local representatives, the City of San Clemente and Pronto Italian Deli.
On November 16th at 6:30pm, a Neapolitan pizza masterclass will be held at Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, in collaboration with AVPN – Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the Italian Trade Agency and Accademia Italiana della Cucina. If you are interested, you can get more info and register at pizzadayla@gmail.com.
On November 18th, from 1 to 4 pm at Eataly in Century, you’ll be able to enjoy a free tasting corner offering authentic Italian pizza: here, you’ll get the opportunity to try a selection of free mini pizzas, as well as learn more about the history of pizza and of the products on display.
On the 20th of November at 7 pm, Italian restaurant Casa Modena, in collaboration with the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, will host a conviviality event dedicated to truffles and their new cultivation techniques. This event is by invitation only.
Other promotional events for the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World include webinars, chefs’ presentations, cooking classes, tastings and dinners. All information is available on the Impastiamo website, at https://www.impastiamoclasses.com/world-week-italian-cuisine, and at www.conslosangeles.esteri.it.
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