L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS W h a t a r e t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t t h e m e s emerging from this doc- umentary? A . P . : I t a l i a n c u i s i n e i s well known here, but little is known about its history. Few people know that California has the largest vineyard in the world. I understood it a f t e r s h o o t i n g t h i s d o c u - mentary: California is on the 34th parallel, the same as B e i r u t , t h e o n l y o n e t h a t crosses the Mediterranean. For this reason, geographi- cally, it is very similar to Italy: when Piero Selvaggio wanted to prepare risotto with radicchio, he simply had this vegetable produced on site. This is an exception- al thing because Italian cui- sine also means using locally produced ingredients, fresh and in season, which really gives flavor to the dish: this i s w h y t h e s i t u a t i o n i n California is very favorable. S . C . : M o r e o v e r , i f w e learn to prepare Italian food the traditional way, fresh, locally sourced ingredients are mixed with products of our Made in Italy, that come directly from our country and are irreplaceable. This means opening new markets and fighting against "Italian S o u n d i n g " p r o d u c t s , a l l thanks to the diffusion of our cuisine. What else do you con- sider fundamental in the evolution of Italian cui- sine in Los Angeles? A.P.: This is the city of celebrities, so when a trend i s b o r n i n L o s A n g e l e s , w h e t h e r i t i s r e l a t e d t o s h o e s , c a r s , o r f o o d , i t b e c o m e s w o r l d - f a m o u s . Think about what happened t o b u r r a t a , f o r e x a m p l e , w h i c h b e c a m e p o p u l a r t h a n k s t o C h e f N a n c y Silverton of Osteria Mozza. When I was little in Rome, you couldn't find burrata because it was an extremely niche product. The crazy thing is that here, in LA, it w a s a n A m e r i c a n c h e f t o m a k e i t f a m o u s a n d n o w everyone knows it and wants it. We have to give a lot of credit to the Italian chefs in LA. A.P.: It took Italian chefs years to build a heritage of trust in real Italian food, w h i c h i s d i f f e r e n t f r o m Italian-American food. It was a job carried out day after day by Piero Selvaggio, Gino Angelini, and many others; every evening, they would talk with their cus- tomers, trying to explain dishes and ingredients, and also the importance of sim- plicity in our cuisine. There were no billboards around t h e c i t y n o r p r o m o t i o n a l advertisements: it was us Italians who spread and cre- ated appreciation for our cuisine. S.C. We also managed to create a sense of "owner- ship," of belonging, which h e l p e d t o e n s u r e t h a t b y n o w , A n g e l e n o s a r e n o longer satisfied with a poor- ly made pizza or overcooked p a s t a . T h e y a p p r e c i a t e P a r m i g i a n o R e g g i a n o o r Parma ham, which, in fact, can be found in all super- m a r k e t s . I t i s c o n s u m e r s who guide the production and dissemination of quali- t y , a n d I t a l i a n s i n L o s A n g e l e s h a v e n o w s p e n t almost two centuries guid- ing consumers. Given this milestone, w h a t n e e d s t o b e improved now? A . P . : A m e r i c a n s a r e changing their approach to Italian food when they go to restaurants because there a r e c u l i n a r y c u l t u r e a n d k n o w l e d g e n o w . T o d a y , Americans know where to go if they choose to eat Roman, S a r d i n i a n o r A p u l i a n . I n fact, the future lies precisely in the regionalization of the offer. If we think about it, there are 315 denominations of controlled origin (DOP) in Italy: each of them is a terri- t o r y , i t t e l l s s t o r i e s , i t i s made of people. The goal now is understanding fully the magnitude of the offer. What else is missing? A.P.: We must transmit the culture of sharing and conviviality to Americans: for this reason, the docu- mentary speaks about the Church of San Pedro, a place of aggregation, food sharing, and banquets. S.C.: Telling the story of I t a l i a n c u i s i n e i n L o s A n g e l e s i s a l s o u s e f u l t o show how Italy is a country capable of innovating and changing. We must continue to use these tools to convey the idea of Italy as it is: a modern nation, in constant evolution. Continued from page 4 From left, Andrea Perugini, Deputy Consul and Head of the Economic and Commercial Office at the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles; Marianna Gatto, Executive Director of IAMLA; Piero Selvaggio of Drago Centro and Lisa Strangis of Make Me Hungry (Photo: Lex Ryan) Consul Genaral Silvia Chiave (Photo: Lex Ryan)

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