Despite stringent pandemic-related measures in several Chinese cities, Italy took center stage again in China for the 7th edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World which was held from 14 to 20 November on the theme: “Conviviality, sustainability, and innovation: the ingredients of Italian cuisine for people’s health and the protection of the planet”. Once again this year, the most renowned representatives of Italian restaurants in China went all out to promote the excellence of Italy’s food and wine.
The Week this year was made especially interactive through both in person and online events such as the video course “A Taste of Italy” organised by the Farnesina in partnership with the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo. In Beijing, in addition to the initiatives promoted by more than twenty restaurants in cooperation with the Italian Embassy, and to the promotion agreement of Italian products signed with the Sherpa home delivery service company, a number of events were hosted at the Italian Cultural Institute, including the presentation of the book by Chef Marino D’Antonio, a gala dinner co-organised with the Accademia Italiana della Cucina on the theme of Italian cuisine as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, and an exhibition dedicated to emblematic success stories of virtuous personalities in Italy’s food and wine sector.
In other major Chinese cities, including Canton, Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu, Italian restaurants, in partnership with Italian Consulates General, offered their customers tastings and special menus. Moreover, Shanghai hosted the first stop of the fifth edition of the “Vinitaly China Roadshow”, co-organised by Veronafiere and the ICE Foreign Trade Agency, which later travelled to Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Again in Shanghai, the ICE Agency and the Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana (ALMA) launched the Italian Culinary Program’ initiative aimed at promoting exchanges between Italy and China in the culinary sector. In Hong Kong, the Week opened with a campaign promoting typical Italian products at the City Super chain of supermarkets and food workshops organised in association with the Dante Alighieri Society and Slow Food Association. The city of Haikou hosted training activities organised by ICE and ALMA, in addition to the “EDO ERGO SUM” photography exhibition with shots by Francesco Tonelli. Chengdu hosted a lecture on Italian coffee organised by Lavazza, while the Italian Consulate General launched a campaign on Chinese social media titled “Italian Food Marathon in Southwest of China”. Lastly, the city of Canton hosted the presentation of the “Map of Food and Wine: ingredients of Italian cuisine in Southern China”, a project curated by the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce.
The Week turned out to be a big hit, especially thanks to the synergy established between the different actors of Italian Country Promotion projects present in China, first and foremost the Italian Embassy, but also the consular network, the Italian Cultural Institutes, and the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce. Emanuele di Lorenzo Badia, the Italian Deputy Head of Mission in Beijing emphasised “the value of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, an annual event through which Italy has long been promoting an action aimed at acknowledging the benefits of traditional diets, especially the Mediterranean Diet, also through multilateral initiatives such as the ‘NutrInform Battery’ labelling system of the World Health Organization.”
