L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 4 SILVIA GIUDICI NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS T o celebrate the sixth edition of t h e W e e k o f I t a l i a n C u i - s i n e i n t h e World, the documentary La Cucina Italiana in Los A n g e l e s : A n I t a l i a n & American Story was offi- c i a l l y p r e s e n t e d a n d screened. P r o d u c e d b y t h e C o n s u l a t e G e n e r a l o f Italy, with the collaboration of the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, the documentary features some of the most renowned Italian chefs in the city and explores, through their expe- r i e n c e s , t h e e v o l u t i o n o f Italian food in Los Angeles and its impact on the local c u l i n a r y s c e n e . A m o n g them, Gino Angelini, Piero Selvaggio, Nancy Silverton, E v a n F u n k e , A n g e l o Auriana, Mattia Agazzi and Steve Samson, just to name a few. The film, divided into three temporal chapters, the last of which focused on the past twenty years, tells the extraordinary story of Italy's influence on the idea itself of Italian food in the city of angels. The documentary starts with the journey of the first Italian immigrants to LA, around 1830, all the way to the present day and the radical changes we've been witnessing on the local food scene. "Many cuisines, including the Italian, have been modi- f i e d t o s u i t A m e r i c a n tastes," Marianna Gatto, d i r e c t o r o f t h e I t a l o - American Museum in Los Angeles explains. In addi- tion to presenting the docu- mentary, Gatto also took part in it. "I attribute the changes we have witnessed t o t h e m a t u r a t i o n o f American taste, a more edu- c a t e d c o n s u m e r b a s e , a n i n c r e a s e i n t r a v e l l i n g t o I t a l y , f o o d a n d w i n e tourism, journalism and the media." L ' I t a l o - A m e r i c a n o attended the documentary premiere at the IAMLA and c o l l e c t e d t h e w o r d s o f C o n s u l G e n e r a l i n L o s Angeles Silvia Chiave and of the project's creator, Vice C o n s u l , a n d H e a d o f t h e economic and commercial office Andrea Perugini. What did this docu- mentary mean for you? S.C: This documentary highlights the efforts and challenges the first Italians who came here had to face, but also their traditions. It is a b o u t t h e s u c c e s s t h e y achieved in a fertile environ- ment such as that of Los Angeles, where the public is sophisticated, loves quality, and our country. The theme of this year's Week of Italian C u i s i n e i n t h e W o r l d i s "Traditions and perspectives of Italian cuisine: awareness and enhancement of food sustainability." Everyone knows Italy's millenary tra- ditions and culture, but not e v e r y o n e k n o w s t h a t o u r country has an extraordi- nary capacity to innovate, in all sectors. In the documen- tary, we wanted to stress how our history and our cul- ture greatly influenced and defined local taste, but also how they led to important changes and innovations b o t h i n t h e w a y w e e a t Italian in Los Angeles and in the very perception of our country." How did this project start? A . P . : E v e r y y e a r , t h e Consulate produces videos a n d g a s t r o n o m i c e v e n t s , now also virtual, to cele- brate the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World. After the 2015 Milan Expo, the Italian government decided to involve the diplomatic- c o n s u l a r n e t w o r k i n t h e organization of events and m a s t e r c l a s s e s a i m e d a t making our cuisine known and at celebrating and pro- m o t i n g a u t h e n t i c I t a l i a n products in the context of t h e m o s t e x t e n s i v e " T h e Extraordinary Italian Taste" campaign. Continued to page 6 A picture of the LA Circolo Operaio Italiano's gala dinner, in 1949. Back then, despite a growing Italian community, locals were not as knowledgeable about Italian food as they are today. Courtesy of IAMLA Italian cuisine in Los Angeles showcased in a documentary

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