L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY A tribute to Italian cuisine: Los Angeles celebrates the Second Annual World Week of Italian Cuisine From the left: Chef Giuseppe Asaro, Consul General Antonio Verde, Chef Leandro Luppi. Photo: Los Angeles Italian Consulate T he Second Annual World Week of Ita- lian Cuisine, held in Los Angeles on November 13-19, is an initiative of the Italian Government to support the qua- lity of Italian cuisine abroad, in order to increase the distribution and the presence of the Italian products across the world. More than a thousand initiatives were held in 296 countries worldwide. The event in Los Angeles, as in all other cities across the US, opened a week before due to the Thanksgiving celebrations at the end of the month.  Coordinated by the Italian Consulate, the Los Angeles program included exhi- bitions, demos, masterclasses, workshops, movies, conferences and galas, all promoting Italian territories and DOP products. This year's edition was parti- cularly focused on the Mediterra- nean Diet, sustainability and food authenticity, the latter important because of the proliferation of counterfeit Italian products sold as real, especially abroad.  Consul General Antonio Verde has underlined that "This new edition of the Week con- firms the importance of the joint effort of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Coope- ration with the Ministry for Agri- cultural Policies, Food and Fore- stry in support of culinary and gastronomic excellence, as a distinctive sign of Italian identity and culture." The Consul General also recalled the involvement of the entire "Los Angeles 'Team Italy:' the Italian Cultural Institu- te, the Trade and Tourism Agency, the Italian American Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Academy of Cuisine." The Los Angeles program also involved Cinema Italian Style, the annual festival dedica- ted to the best of Italian film pro- duction. This year's bond further strengthened the connection between "Oscar-worthy" cinema and cuisine in Los Angeles. Organized by Luce-Cinecittà, Cinema Italian Style officially introduced to Hollywood Jonas Carpignano's movie A Ciambra, Italy's entry for the 2018 Aca- demy Awards. The relationship between Ita- lian food and Italian movies was promoted through many other initiatives like the photographic exhibition Cinema and Food, about the cinematic representa- tion of Italian food habits in the 20th century, as well as  the pre- sentation of the book Bread, Love and Dreams, The Taste of Italian Cinema by Laura Delli Colli,  journalist, writer and Arti- stic Director of Cinema Italian Style Film Festival: the book illustrates the interaction between food and cinema, from the post WWII era to present days. Always related to the bond between cinema and food was also the screening of the docu- mentary film Pizza... and Art of Living by Matteo Troncone, dedicated to Neapolitan culinary art and lifestyle. Renowned Italian restaurants that earned the trademarks of distinction "Q" and "AIC," once again presented special menus with evocative images and emo- tions from Italian cinematic cul- ture to honor the international capital of cinema. High quality ingredients from areas affected by Italy's recent earthquakes were used, as a gesture of solidarity and concre- te assistance to boost local chal- lenged economies. Joining the Consul General, as a special guest from Italy, was famous starred Chef Leandro Luppi, from Restaurant Vecchia Malce- sine on Lake Garda. He embo- died a great link between Cinema Italian Style and the Week, cele- brating Italy's excellence in the culinary and cinematic arts in a synthesis of flavors and images for the Cinema Italian Style Gala. Leandro Luppi, along with Fratelli Drago, the renowned Los Angeles-based family of Sicilian restaurateurs, cooked together for the exclusive reception organized by the Consul General at his resi- dence. The famous chef's goal was to showcase prestigious national DOP products and diffe- rent Italian culinary traditions, to bring into the spotlight the extraordinary richness of Italy's gastronomy. "An excellent mix between the Northern and the Southern cooking traditions, so very different but yet with the same love for food" he told us. Guests at the reception were directors and actors from Cinema Italian Style, like Claudio Sana- taria, Jasmine Trinca and France- sco Bruni, along with other known personalities from the Ita- lian-American community in Los Angeles, like Romina Power, Clarissa Burt, Paul Sorvino, Evan Handler and Martha De Lauren- tiis. Great interest was given to the matching of quality food and quality wine. For the first time, the Week also reached Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico, where various activities were organized to sup- port the campaign to include the Prosecco Hills of Valdobbiadene in the UNESCO cultural heritage list. A similar campaign was held to support the Art of the Neapoli- tan Pizza and Pizzaiuoli: more than 2 million signatures were collected and should be announ- ced at the end of this year. Enzo Coccia, famous pizzaiolo of the award-winning Neapolitan Pizze- ria  La Notizia opened the event La Pizza Sposa l'Alta Cucina, a tasting panel focused on the evo- lution of pizza into a gourmet product. A similar initiative was also Pizza from A to Z, again in sup- port of Neapolitan pizza for the UNESCO candidacy, and organi- zed in collaboration with Peppe Miele, President of the Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Association in the California district.  What are the goals for the future of the Week, at the end of this rich edition? The Consul has no doubt about it. Italy is invol- ved in the battle against the so- called "Italian-sounding:" foreign products that pretend to be Italian and end up damaging both pro- ducers and consumers, who buy products believing they are Ita- lian, but have little to do with the originals. The goal is to increase awareness about the differences between counterfeit and original products, highlighting the bene- fits of the latter from an organo- leptic point of view, as these products are protected by DOC, DCG and DOP trademarks. "Numbers are growing and Italy is trendy, cinema-wise and cooking-wise," concludes Consul Antonio Verde. SILVIA NITTOLI

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