Pizza takes centre stage in the Week of Italian Cuisine in Turkey

Pizza was the guest star of the Week of Italian Cuisine in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir.  The Italian Consulate and Cultural Institute organised a programme full of events to celebrate the third edition of the Week to promote the excellence of Italian food and wine. Pizza, one of the most popular foods in the world that was recently inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list, was the highlight of the tastings of typical Mediterranean Diet dishes prepared by Michelin-star-winning Chef Christoph Bob, from the restaurant “Il Refettorio del Monastero Santa Rosa” (Conca dei Marini, Salerno). The Chef also held a master class on haute cuisine at the Hilton Hotel of Ankara to teach how to prepare an Italian four-course meal. A lecture on Venetian wine was hosted at Casa Italia, which also presented the candidacy of the “Colline del Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene” to be inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Another event consisted in a dinner dedicated to Gioacchino Rossini, composer and gourmet, for the 150^th anniversary of his death, which was organised at the ‘L’avare Sahne’ restaurant, while the International Academy of Italian Cuisine prepared a musical dinner featuring soprano Simge Büyükedes, the winner of the Leyla Gencer Voice Competition. Moreover, throughout the Week of Italian Cuisine, Italian products were displayed all the points of sale of the Macro Center chain of retail shops. The Week closed with a charity bazaar organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spouses Solidarity Association of Turkey (DMEDD).