5th World Week of Italian Cuisine (Scotland)

World Week of Italian Cuisine (November 23-29), now in its fifth year, is an initiative started by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to promote the country’s high quality cuisine around the world. It aims to boost food and wine tourism, particularly to regions little-known outside Italy, following the spirit of Pellegrino Artusi who 130 years ago published “La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene” (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well) which gathered and united the regional culinary traditions of the Bel Paese. 

Our Scotland Office, in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture of Edinburgh and the Consulate General of Italy for Scotland and Northern Ireland, we will showcase the food of Sicily this year. In collaboration with Alma and Ambasciatori del Gusto the events will display how the Mediterranean diet can boost the body’s immune system. 

The opening event of the week, La cena è servita, A Sicilian Dinner will see an invited audience of food writers and bloggers take part in a Sicilian-food themed live cookery webinar from Italy with leading chef Carlo Maria Ricci from the acclaimed Italian ALMA cook school in Parma. The menu will be actually delivered to their homes to allow them to sample the exact dishes. Our member Eusebi Deli in Glasgow and Damiani Sicilian Fine Dining, will prepare and deliver Chef Ricci’s dishes in Scotland to each of the food writers’ and bloggers’ homes. 

The closing event Cooking in Sicily – in partnership with Ambasciatori del Gusto (the Italian Association of Ambassadors of Taste) – will involve 30 people winning the chance to cook a specially designed dish in their own kitchens through a cookery demonstration beamed live from Sicily with leading chef Bonetta dell’Oglio. Palermo-born Chef dell’Oglio, who has won widespread praise for her innovative cooking which celebrates her Sicilian heritage and her passion for showcasing organic agriculture and the benefits of healthy eating, will answer questions from the lucky home cooks. There will also be a wine pairing presentation from Mariella Caputo from Ambasciatori del Gusto. The participants will be judged on their dishes with the winner scooping a luxury Italian food hamper from sponsors Pastificio dei Campi and Berlucchi Wines. Details of how to enter the competition will be made available on our social media channels and on the Italian Institute of Culture in Edinburgh’s ones, our partner on the project.  

Finally, if you want to enjoy a very special menu at home created specifically for the Week, don’t miss our member Contini’s “Settimana Della Cucina Menu”. 

For further information, please contact our Project Manager and Scotland Representative Davide Bargna.