6th edition of the World Week of Italian Cuisine
22 – 29 November 2021
Today marks the start of the World Week of Italian Cuisine. This year, the sixth edition, the theme is “Tradition and points of view in Italian Cuisine: awareness and promotion of food sustainability”. The Italian institutions in the UK (the consulates and cultural institutes in London and Edinburgh, the Italian Trade Agency, the Italian Tourism Board, the Chamber of Commerce and the Accademia della Cucina), coordinated by the Embassy of Italy in London, have put together a programme comprising twenty events, both in person and online.
“Good cuisine and carefully selected high-quality ingredients are an essential element of Italian culture, which we celebrate every year around the world,” said Ambassador Raffaele Trombetta. “In the UK, we will once again be promoting social initiatives, something we consider very important. We will also be focusing on respect for territory and sustainability in food chains as an aspect of Italy’s overall commitment to protecting the environment”.
On 23 and 24 November the Embassy will offer an Italian menu at Refettorio Felix, a community kitchen at the St Cuthbert’s Centre in London, part of Massimo Bottura’s Food for Soul network. Each day at lunchtime the Refettoria will welcome over a hundred people in difficulty. A number of Italian businesses and distributors – Prezzemolo e Vitale, Filippo Berio, Riso Gallo, Vincenzo Ltd – will be contributing quality products and ingredients to the menu.
On Saturday 27 the Embassy will host a cooking workshop for children with disabilities at Eataly. It will be the fifth event of this kind, part of a series launched this year on Italy’s National Day in collaboration with KIDS, a UK charity that supports children with disabilities.
On 23 November an event entitled “Good for you, good for the Earth” will be held in Edinburgh, organised by the Consulate General and the Italian Cultural Institute in collaboration with the local Chamber of Commerce and Slow Food Scotland.
As with previous editions, there will also be events with chefs and other figures from the world of gastronomy and hospitality. Francesco Mazzei will present one of his iconic dishes at a cooking show at the Embassy and will give another demonstration at the University of West London. Chef Theo Randall will oversee the Accademia Italiana della Cucina’s gala dinner, and Chef Danilo Cortellini will be in charge of the lunch menus at Refettorio Felix and a reception at the Embassy. Agostino Perrone and Giorgio Bargiani, respectively director of mixology and head mixologist at the Connaught Bar in London, will be interviewed by Deborah Bonetti, director of the Foreign Press Association and correspondent at Il Giorno. They will explain how they won the “World’s Best Bar” award, discuss the links between cocktails and gastronomy, and present some of their best-known creations. Gennaro Contaldo and Jamie Oliver will receive the honour of the Order of the Star of Italy for their role in raising awareness of Italian cuisine in the UK.
Schools and universities will also be involved: the Consulate General in London, in collaboration with the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, will present the book “La cucina italiana a fumetti” at the Italian School in London, while the University of West London will host, in addition to the session with Francesco Mazzei, a masterclass by Valentina Harris on DOP and IGP products, organised by the Italian Trade Agency.
Some of the events will be held online: on 23 November the Accademia Italiana della Cucina will host a discussion with experts entitled “Mens sana in corpore sano”, and on 29 November Professor David Ellwood and Professor Sara Marino will discuss Italian cuisine as soft power, in a discussion organised by the Italian Cultural Centre in London.
See the calendar of events here.
