A rich and varied program, ranging between art and science, was organized by the Italian diplomatic and consular representatives in Turkey on the occasion of the Week of Italian Cuisine (the Italian Embassy in Ankara, the General Consulate of Italy in Istanbul and the Italian Consulate at Izmir). It was a voyage that valorized every facet of Italian cuisine from science to art and history, thanks to the collaboration of the Italian Institute of Culture, the office of ICE – the Institute for Foreign Trade, the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Turkey, the Academy of Italian Cuisine and the Italian IMI High School – Özel Italyan Lisesi.
Particular attention was devoted to the subject of the agrifood industry, the products of excellence in food and wine and products with protected and controlled origin name. The emphasis was on the acknowledged values of nutritional health and wellbeing of Italian cuisine and the Mediterranean diet, as well as the importance of Italian food and wine worldwide in the “green economy”, the circular economy, environmental sustainability, and the avoidance of food waste. On Instagram, the Italian Embassy involved a different influencer for every day of the week, asking each of them to prepare a recipe with “sustainable” ingredients to valorize the low impact of Italian cuisine in terms of waste, also thanks to a knowledgeable use of the ingredients.
A number of exceptional testimonials participated in the Week of Italian Cuisine, which included a series of online and hybrid Masterclasses: from Chef Claudio Chinali, Ambassador of Taste, and executive chef of Eataly Istanbul, to the master of low temperature cooking, Marco Pirotta; from the Ambassador of Taste, Eleonora Andriolo, to noted Italian Chefs who work in Turkish territory, like Giancarlo Gottardo (executive chef of the Divan Group), Luigi Mariconda and Luca de Astis of Le Cordon Bleu Turkey. There were lectures on the Mediterranean diet, Neapolitan cooking as an example of Italian excellence in the world, the main regional traditions and the opportunities in female entrepreneurship connected to the world of food.
The Italian Embassy collaborated with the Academy of Cuisine in Istanbul and the Impact Hub to organize an event online devoted to “match-making” between Italian enterprises in the agrifood sector and 26 innovative Turkish start-ups, to evaluate possible synergies and collaborations. Finally, due attention was given to educational events, with a detailed program of cooking classes and shows conducted by renowned chefs like Claudio Chinali, Ozgur Kilinclar, Luca De Astis, Cosimo Rotolo, Marco Pirotta, Eleonora Andriolo and Simone Romiti, intended for the students of the Cooking Academies and the Nutritional Education departments of prestigious Turkish universities, operators in the sector and young people in general, thanks to the collaboration with the students of the Italian High School in Istanbul. There was even room in the packed program of events of the Week for a movie to be shown online: “I Villani”, directed by Daniele De Michele (in Italian with Turkish subtitles) offered by the Institute of Culture, while the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Istanbul organized an event dedicated to Dante and entitled “In the Circle of Gluttony: the Table in Dante’s Time”.
