Celebrating Italian cuisine
For four years now, Italians everywhere in the world have been celebrating the “Week of Italian Cuisine in the World” to showcase the best of their culinary traditions.
In the Philippines, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the lead in promoting the excellence of Italian cuisine through various activities that included a celebration at Finestra restaurant at Solaire Resort & Casino in Parañaque City.
Italian Ambassador Giorgio Guglielmino treated over 120 guests that included diplomats and members of the diplomatic corps to an exquisite menu created by chefs Alan Marchetti of Finestra and Carla Brigliadori of Casa Artusi.
The dishes from Casa Artusi were made from recipes that came from Pellegrino Artusi, a successful merchant in the 1800s who wrote La Scienza in Cucina e L’Arte di Mangiar Bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well), considered as one of the most popular and influential cookbooks published in Italy and often referred to as “the bible of Italian cuisine.”
The combination of Chef Brigliadori, a traditionalist, and Chef Marchetti, an innovator of culinary research, served to highlight the classic timelessness of Italian cuisine with traditional dishes able to coexist with modern cuisine.
For instance, there was an octopus carpaccio accompanied by fresh burrata as an appetizer, which was an excellent way to combine the traditional with the innovative especially when accompanied by various excellent Italian wines. The elegant but relaxed atmosphere also added to the gastronomic enjoyment of the guests.
Also present was chef Gaita Fores, whose foodie travel show My Italy with Margarita takes viewers around the bel paese (beautiful country) as she goes down memory lane reminiscing her culinary journey in Italy.
According to Ambassador Guglielmino, plans for next year’s celebration may include holding the “Week of Italian Cuisine in the World” in Cebu, saying that he wants to present all the most innovative aspects of today’s Italy from art to design and, of course, cooking. *
