L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 19 ROBERTO NATALINI The secret chocolaty art of Baci Perugina Community Highlights: Italian Innovation Day – Silicon Valley 2014 Among the wide array of tradi- tional delicacies on sale in every Italian store in San Francisco and all over the United States, one of the most well-known are the iconic Baci chocolate by Perugina, Italian confectionery company based in Perugia. On occasion of the event "Baci e Cioccolato on Valentine's Day" held at the Italian Cultural Institute last February 14, 2014, food specialist Viola Buitoni taught how to make fresh hand- made Baci to say "I love you" the Italian way. Viola, a direct descendant of the family that founded Perugina chocolates in the capital city of Umbria, described the threads of family, love and chocolate that turned Perugina from an exclu- sive confectionery shop in a small city in the heart of Italy to the worldwide brand it is today. Attended by a large group of enthusiasts, the workshop uncovered the secrets of how to prepare Baci, the Italian candies still deliciously made with the same recipe of gianduja, dark chocolate and whole toasted hazelnuts since 1922. Of course, at the end of the night, everyone received a box of freshly made Baci. "I have always wanted to do this workshop", said Viola. "Baci are one of the great gifts of Italian cuisine, and we thought it couldn't be more per- fect to do it on Valentine's Day". Participants on the workshop, were given a hands-on tutorial on tempering chocolate, the tra- ditional cioccolato Luisa 40%, straight from Viola's training at Perugina's Scuola del Cioccolato. In fact, last summer she was invited at the Perugina plant in her hometown for a private lesson by Massimiliano Guidubaldi, one of the school's three chocolate masters, and a detailed tour of the museum at the Archivio Storico Buitoni Perugina. The history of the company Feb. 27, Thurs. - The Italian Language in Contact with English – Linguistic Evolution and Revolution – lecture. Leonardo da Vinci Society illustrated lecture by Mairi McLaughlin, Associate Professor, Dept. of French, UC Berkeley. A look at what happened to dialects when speakers moved to parts of the Anglophone world and what is happe- ning in Italy now as English influences Italian through the media, fashion, film, etc. Museo Italo Americano For info Tel: 415-673-2200 E-mail: sfmuseo@sbcglobal.net Mar. 2, Sun.-Italian Cooking Show: "Cooking With Franca Con Gusto" featuring Franca Brida Lingren and the Italian Center Volunteers. 1pm-3:30pm at The Italian Center, Carmichael (6821 Fair Oaks Blvd, Carmichael, CA 95608). $35 Per Person. Reservations Encouraged. Reservations may be made online at www.italiancenter.net. For information call (916) 482-5900. Mar. 5, Wed. -Italian Cultural Institute, Film: Il Divo (2008, 110'). Servillo/Sorrentino. First of three films to celebrate the partnership of Paolo Sorrentino and Toni Servillo. For information: (415) 788-07142 or Email: contact.sanfranci- sco@esteri.it Mar. 19, Wed. -Italian Cultural Institute, Italian Film: One man up (L'uomo in più; 2001, 100'). Servillo/Sorrentino. Second of three films to celebrate the partnership of Paolo Sorrentino and Toni Servillo. For information: (415) 788- 07142 or Email: contact.sanfrancisco@esteri.it Mar 26, Wed. -Italian Cultural Institute, Film: The conse- quences of love (Le conseguenze dell'amore; 2004, 100') Servillo/Sorrentino. Third of Three films to celebrate the part- nership of Paolo Sorrentino and Toni Servillo. For informa- tion: (415) 788-07142 or Email: contact.sanfrancisco@este- ri.it founded in 1907 by Francesco Buitoni, is strictly connected with the figure of Luisa Spagnoli, the talented woman who owned already a small con- fectionary business in Perugia and was the wife of one of the four founders. Thanks to the creative genius of Luisa, who was looking for a valuable way to use the hazelnut grain, it was invented the new chocolate candy garnished with a whole hazelnut and covered with dark chocolate which later became the most famous product of the company. Initially named "cazzotto", for its irregular shape resembling the knuckle of a hand, it was renamed in 1922 "bacio" by Giovanni Buitoni, the young promising son of the family now in charge of the Perugina busi- ness. It was instead Federico Seneca to add the love note wrapping each chocolate inside the unmis- takable silver paper, that will become identification of Organized by Mind the Bridge Foundation with the support of the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, the main theme of the Italian Innovation Day 2014 will be "We are the Makers", Manufacturing and Design 2.0. The IID returns this year to dis- cuss the investments in Italy and Europe from the perspective of policy makers and investors, with a focus on New Manufacturers and Makers. After a long recession, Italy and Europe are back on the world economic scene with new policies to attract FDI and plat- forms to promote the new waves of innovations: the Makers Faire, European Edition and the recent- ly launched Startup Europe Partnership, a EU supported, pan-European initiative promot- ing linkages between the best European startups and large cor- porations. We will also showcase a selec- tion of some of the best new Italian companies in the arena of the New Manufacturing (arti- sanal manufacturers and mak- ers). The half day event will focus on: presenting in Silicon Valley the Startup Europe Partnership and the new investment opportu- nities back in the Old World; attracting entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders and mentors from EU and the US; featuring a showcase of the new tech oriented generation of European Makers. Invited speakers: General Consul Mauro Battocchi, Domenico Arcuri (Invitalia), Enrico Moretti (UC Berkeley), John Hartnett (SVG Partners), Riccardo Luna (Maker Faire Rome), Tony DeRose (Pixar Animation Studios), Steve J. Luczo (Seagate), Marco Marinucci (Mind the Bridge Foundation). Register at http://iid.mindthe- bridge.org/eventbrite/ Save the date: Italian Innovation Day 2014 Computer History Museum, Mountain View, March 3, 2014 Viola Buitoni during the workshop "Baci and Cioccolato" has involved the participants in making Baci chocolate romance around the world being translated in many different lan- guages. As Viola pointed out, Giovanni Buitoni was "a man of unique vision who understood that chocolate had to become an everyday treat rather than the upper class luxury as it was at that time". In between the two wars, he opened up to the southern Italian market, considered too poor by luxury goods seller, started box- ing products and, most impor- tantly, he expanded to the United States at the 1939 World's Fair in New York with "Buitoni Foods and Perugina Chocolates and Confections". Even if since 1985 the owner- ship of Perugina is no longer part of the Buitoni family, it is now a division of the Nestlé cor- poration, this fascinating story that brings together family, tra- dition and passion for doing business can still be admired at the Museo del Cioccolato in Perugia.

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