Italian regional cuisine week shines in São Paulo - News from Embassies

From country traditions to refined regional cuisines: the flavors of Italy are back in the spotlight in Brazil with the 14th edition of the Italian Regional Cooking Week, scheduled in São Paulo from October 20 to 26. The event-the most important Italian gastronomic showcase in Brazil-this year will also turn the spotlight on gastronomy’s candidacy as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.


“Realizing the Week in the same year as the Unesco candidacy broadens the scope of our action,” said the consul general of Italy in São Paulo, Domenico Fornara, emphasizing how the initiative reinforces the idea of a living heritage made up of gestures, techniques and flavors handed down.


The formula remains the established one. Twenty chefs from each Italian region will present recipes in as many Paulistani restaurants, with three- or four-course menus that tell the roots and evolution of the “made in Italy” culinary tradition. The dishes are proposed by the guest chefs and created together with the hosts in a fruitful exchange of experiences. The richness of each region emerges, reflected in the variety of quality ingredients and traditional production techniques. Suffice it to mention that Italy boasts more than 300 agrifood products protected by PDO, PGI and Stg marks.
Among the specialties on the program are the Radicchio, pork belly and borlotti beans appetizer, typical of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Tortelli maremmani with meat sauce and seasoned pecorino cheese, a Tuscan tradition, and Ricciola alla puttanesca, a Campanian recipe made with fish with cherry tomatoes, capers and olives, accompanied by herb potatoes. To close on a sweet note, the famous Sicilian cannolo.


The program also includes hands-on cooking lessons by chef Claudio Rocchi, workshops on typical recipes and ingredients, a free photo exhibition entitled “La Cucina Italiana” at the Italian Cultural Institute, and lectures dedicated to the cultural value of Italian gastronomy and the path to UNESCO.


In addition to the Consulate, the organization of the “Week” also involves institutions and agencies such as the Italian Academy of Cuisine, Ice/Ita, Sace, Simest, Enit and the Italian Chamber of Commerce of São Paulo (Italcam).