L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 5 LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY rather a state of mind that too often is forgotten and belongs mostly to a state of emergency to face scarcity of food, water and so on. Preventing is less cost- effective and way more ethical than healing or adjusting. We simply need to act in respect of Mother Nature, waiting for the right product at the right time, buying only the quantity we need at the time we need (waste is also due to too much grocery or cooking), re-using part of the ingredients, or the leftovers, with and for different purposes, etc. Don't look for a fruit or a veg- etable out of the regular season: it will come from far away, the cost will be high (transportation, exclusivity of the product etc.) and the taste/flavor will be differ- ent. "Less and better" it's the phi- losophy to keep in mind, from a piece of meat to a delicious fish. Also, when you can get any- thing you want anytime you want, the pleasure of waiting and expecting is ruined. We are too spoiled and nothing anymore sur- prises us. I remember, as a child, when I was waiting anxiously for the beginning of June, so I could taste the first strawberries of the season: crisp, small, not ripe as the ones from July, but yet deli- cious and the perfect way to announce the summer and the end of the school. What did you learn from your recent meeting with chef Massimo Bottura? I had a terrific personal and professional experience working with Chef Massimo Bottura, dur- ing the kick off of the "Week of Italian Cuisine in the World", at the residence of Italy's Ambassador to the US in Washington D.C., as well as in NYC, during a three-day series of events and seminars dedicated to DOP/IGP products from Emilia Romagna in the wonderful sce- nario of Eataly DT. I had the chance to hear from him and his wife Laura the gene- sis and the evolution of their pro- ject, "Food for Soul," and what they accomplished, by setting up the Refectory Gastromotiva and the Refectory Ambrosiano and feeding hundreds of people re- using the food waste from the Olympics in Rio and the Expo in Milan. Having the chance to experi- ence the cuisine of the most famous chef in the world is already exceptional; collaborating with him and his team, supervis- ing the wine pairing, taking care of the wine education and the ser- vice during the Embassy dinner and the seminars in NYC, have been a true pleasure, a privilege and a chance to raise the bars of my work ethic and my personal growth. I'd like to mention also anoth- er chef I met and worked with in NYC: Igles Corelli, a stellar chef member of the "Chef to Chef" organization and theoretic of the "circular cuisine," a no-waste approach similar to Bottura's one, when he decided to make a gelato out of a banana's peel. Similarly chef Corelli's approach re-uses every single part of each ingredient, like the head of a shrimp, blended with sparkling water and extra virgin olive oil, to create an emulsion to cook pasta with, comparable to the consistency of the mayon- naise.. without eggs! Are you in contact with the local Italian-American commu- nity? Are you member of any such organization? I am not formally involved with any association and I am not officially a member of the Italian- American community, at least not in a "traditional way." Being a Wine Educator and delivering a large number of lec- tures each month at the Italian Cultural Institute, at UCLA, at the Italian Chamber of Commerce, and so on, give me anyway plenty of chances to feel part of and to have an impact on the Italian- American community. To me, we should reconsider the definition of community, as well as its extension, or its "phys- ical concept." We don't necessar- Continued from pg 4 ily need to have an epicenter, such as a formal location or an headquarter. You can be part of the Italian-American community by visiting a museum highlight- ing an Italian artist, dining out in a very genuine Italian restaurant, or by simply calling over to your house, Italians, Americans and all the lovers of Italian lifestyle and culture, and appreciate together a meal, a book, a movie or just a party.

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