From November 13th to 19th, 2023, with the involvement of embassies, consulates, and many protagonists in the world of food, gastronomy becomes a tool for promoting Italy abroad
Gambero Rosso – Everything is ready for the eighth edition of the Italian Cuisine Week in the World (Settimana della Cucina italiana nel mondo – SCIM). From November 13th to 19th, a week full of events is anticipated: in-depth seminars, meetings with industry personalities such as chefs, operators, and producers, demonstrative classes, and multimedia materials to enhance the Italian enogastronomic and agri-food reality comprehensively. A showcase aimed at giving new impetus to tricolour gastronomic excellences, from wine to oil, passing through the world’s most appreciated recipes and the most iconic agri-food products. An effort shared by many companies and institutions coordinated under the direction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Maeci) for the eighth edition of the event.
A showcase aimed at giving new impetus to tricolour gastronomic excellences, from wine to oil, passing through the world’s most appreciated recipes and the most iconic agri-food products.
Settimana della Cucina Italiana nel Mondo
Established in 2016, since then, the exhibition has seen the realization of over 9,200 events in more than 100 countries to promote and make known typical agri-food products and enogastronomic traditions worldwide. It also aims to raise awareness among the public on topics such as the sustainability of production processes, technological innovations, and the values of inclusion and collaboration that our country adheres to. Thus, enogastronomy becomes the tool to promote a country and a culture, increasing the level of knowledge and awareness, fostering exports of products and ideas, as well as boosting tourist flows and the internationalization processes of companies.
The novelties of this year
This year’s scheduled initiatives focus on a shared thematic agenda: “At the table with Italian cuisine: well-being with taste.” This is the leitmotif of the eighth edition. A message emphasized through the connection between the Mediterranean diet – as a model of a healthy and high-quality dietary regimen – and well-being, understood as a correct and healthy lifestyle. Conviviality, sustainability, and innovation will be the guiding principles of various activities that center around caring for people’s health and protecting the environment. Accompanying this discussion are important reflections on the true “Made in Italy,” the places and excellences of Italian enogastronomy, along with its stories and culture. In this sense, the contrast to the phenomenon of “Italian sounding,” or the fight against brands and references that make products appear Italian when they are not, is central.
Among the protagonists of the Italian Cuisine Week in the World are chefs and sommeliers, the foremost interpreters of concepts like “craftsmanship” and “innovation,” and key actors in Italian culinary and hospitality education, serving as a reference beacon for those aiming for quality offerings. It’s a multifaceted event that accommodates parallel projects discussing interconnections between history, enogastronomy, and transmediality. In particular, among this year’s projects, wine and olive oil will play a central role in an initiative by MAECI with Gambero Rosso aimed at introducing and promoting two globally recognized excellences in Africa through a series of video lessons that narrate the most important olive cultivars and Italian grape varieties.
Also noteworthy is the collaboration between MAECI and the Casa Artusi Foundation, which produces a series of informative videos translated into eight languages, illustrating “gastronomic Italianisms” worldwide. These videos tell the story of the network formed between history, culture, and enogastronomy, tracing the journey and transformation over time and space of some Italian enogastronomic products and the words associated with them. Another notable project is carried out by the Farnesina in collaboration with the Italian Academy of Cuisine: the “History of Italian cuisine in comics. From Etruscan noodles to Tiramisu.” A journey through time and the history of Italian cuisine that retraces its evolution, step by step, with a focus on a younger audience. The work will be distributed in both print and digital formats and will be available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic.
