NUR-SULTAN – The sixth edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World was held Nov. 22-28 in the Kazakh capital and Almaty, reported the press service of the Italian Embassy in Kazakhstan.
Ambassador of Italy in Kazakhstan Marco Alberti delivers remarks at the Italian Beauty dinner event on Nov. 26 in the Kazakh capital. Photo credit: Press service of the Italian Embassy in Kazakhstan.
Overall, 15 events were organized highlighting the superb ingredients, creative recipes, and sustainable concepts of the Mediterranean Diet and their hospitality customs. The program featured cultural and culinary meetings and events.
Launched in 2016, the event is one of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s flagship initiatives of the annual promotional program titled “Vivere all’Italiana” (Italian way of life). It aims to promote not only the traditions of Italian cuisine but also the concepts of hospitality, sustainability, wellness associated with the Mediterranean Diet, which has been inscribed by UNESCO among the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity since 2013.
This year, the theme was Tradition and perspectives of Italian cuisine: the awareness and enhanced appreciation of food sustainability to highlight the Mediterranean Diet as a model of healthy and sustainable diet and lifestyle.
The fashion show featuring famous Italian brands was held at the Italian Beauty dinner.
According to Ambassador of Italy in Kazakhstan Marco Alberti, the event also aims to strengthen the Italian food traditions and to show that quality and sustainability are important.
“Food and fashion are important industries for Italy,” Alberti said at the opening of the “Italian Beauty dinner”, one of the most iconic events of the week, dedicated to the cuisine and fashion.
“The forecasts for 2021 estimate 80 billion in exports (+ 17 percent compared to 2020) as regards the fashion and related sectors. The same happens with Italian cuisine. In 2019, The Economist published an analysis on the specific value of the different national cuisines, measured on the basis of what the inhabitants of the world eat outside the home. Italian cuisine was by far the most influential in the world and the one capable of expressing the greatest strength of attraction,” said the Italian Ambassador.
He also explained what makes food and fashion so iconic for Italy. “It is the ability to transform superior quality of ingredients not only into products but into experiences. The second reason is that there are thousands of small and medium companies working in these two sectors. The hallmark of Italy is the quality and style together,” he added.
In Kazakhstan, the Italian Embassy organized the events in cooperation with the Italian institutions in the country and local partners.
Italian Cuisine Week started with a conference dedicated to food that’s good for the earth. A sustainable and regenerative agricultural model in cooperation with the Future Food Institute of Bologna, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Kazakh State Agrotechnical University was presented in Nur-Sultan. The workshops on sustainable nutrition for school children, a seminar on food, the history of hospitality, a master class and a festival of Italian Wine and Food in Almaty were also held.
