Today, the opening event of the “5th Week of Italian Cuisine in the World” was held in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manlio Di Stefano, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Teresa Bellanova.
The “Week of Italian Cuisine” is an annual flagship event for promoting the agri-food sector, launched in 2016 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, and developed with the support of a working group comprising various sector-specific public and private partners.
The theme of the 2020 edition, “Cuisine know-how and flavours from the Italian Regions, 200 years from the birth of Pellegrino Artusi”, gives an insight into the future of our agri-food sector, rooted in a longstanding tradition, to celebrate the role of the food and wine heritage of Italy’s many and diverse regions and territories. The reference to Pellegrino Artusi, the father of Italian domestic cuisine, aims to enhance both the richness and variety of Italy’s local culinary traditions and the wholesomeness and sustainability of the entire supply chain, embodying the principles and values of the Mediterranean Diet, ten years after its recognition by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
“The strength of the ‘Made in Italy’ brand food products we celebrate here today lies not only in the aggregate figures, which highlight that the industry is doing well and better than many other sectors, even during the first half of 2020, at the peak of the health emergency, with a 3.5% rise in food exports. The recipe for its success lies also in the model of industrial development focused on quality, in which ancient traditions and terroirs merge with innovation, research, culture and design – therefore, according to the guidelines of a novel integrated marketing approach outlined in the Pact for Export – and in the protection of our vast range of “specialty” food featuring no less than 310 denominations registered as PDO, PGI, TSG, and 525 DOCG, DOC and IGT labelled wines, thanks to which Italy ranks first in Europe when it comes to EU-registered geographical designations and indications,” Deputy Minister Manlio Di Stefano said.
The 5th edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World will run from 23 to 29 November 2020.
The Week of Italian Cuisine in the World has a rich programme of events organised by the diplomatic-consular network, Italian Institutes of Culture and ICE (Italian Trade Agency) Offices abroad and has established itself, over the years, as a tool for effectively promoting the Italian agri-food sector and the internationalisation of this export strategic industry, much needed now more than ever before to face the economic repercussions of the health emergency.
