Italian cuisine week, rich programme in Serbia

(ANSA) - BELGRADO, 13 NOV - The programme of the 9th edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World in Serbia, dedicated this year to the theme 'Mediterranean Diet and Roots Cuisine: Health and Tradition', was presented today at a press conference. The meeting with the media took place at the Palilula market in Belgrade and unveiled to the public the articulated calendar of initiatives that from 15 to 22 November will celebrate in Belgrade and other locations around the country the history, tradition and identity value of Italian cuisine and its candidature as a UNESCO intangible heritage.
    The 2024 programme proposed by the Italian Embassy in Belgrade, in collaboration with "Sistema Italia" (ICE, Italian Cultural Institute, Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Confindustria Serbia), will kick off with the "Italian Wine Night" (15 November), an evening open to the public, in collaboration with the Belgrade ICE Office, which will offer the opportunity to taste the best products of Italian wine production. Wine will also be the protagonist of the Wine Vision Fair in Belgrade, in which around 50 Italian producers will take part.
    In the calendar of SCIM 2024 in Serbia, a central role will be played by training with the masterclasses by chef Stefano Carota, addressed to the students of the 'Visoka hotelijerska Škola' hotel institute in Belgrade, and those of chef William Zonfa dedicated to Italian restaurateurs operating in Serbia. Chef Zonfa will also be the author of the gala dinner to be hosted at the Residence of the Italian Ambassador to Serbia, Luca Gori, which will offer a culinary experience inspired by the traditions of the Abruzzo region and a sensory analysis of Italian bubbles by expert Emanuela Panke, curator of the "Sparkling Italy" exhibition, also set up at the Residence.
    Special attention will also be devoted this year to solidarity, as part of the 'Embassy with Open Arms' programme. Thanks to the cooperation with Save the Children Serbia, the Pizzaioli School in Belgrade will welcome the very young guests of the "Center for Youth Integration" and "Prihvatilište za decu" centres for minors in need to knead with them and taste real Italian pizza, prepared by Goran Abramovic, winner of the 2022 World Pizzaioli Championship. Together with UNHCR Serbia and chef Francesco Nicolai, a dinner of Italian specialities prepared at the 'Ugostiteljsko-turistička Škola' by the students of the hotel school and young refugees hosted in Serbia will be organised.
    As far as large-scale distribution and e-commerce are concerned, with which cooperation is crucial to countering the phenomenon of "Italian sounding", the Aroma supermarket chain in Belgrade and Novi Sad will present "Italian Days" from 16 to 22 November, with a special offer of Italian food products, and the online portal Shoppster will launch the special "Made in Italy" campaign. The seminar organised by the Italian Cultural Institute in collaboration with Casa Artusi entitled "La cucina italiana, fra parole e sapori nostrani" (19 November) will also be dedicated to combating "Italian sounding".
    Again, a specific space will be dedicated to the relationship between science and cuisine with the seminar "Space Food Experience" (19 November) organised in collaboration with the BioSense Institute of Novi Sad, which will present the procedures for preparing food to feed the astronauts of the International Space Station. A further excellence of Italian culinary art that combines food and technology.
    Finally, in 13 Italian restaurants in Belgrade and Subotica, it will be possible to taste a menu dedicated to the SCIM 2024, and other events will celebrate Italian cuisine in the cities of Subotica, Vranje, Leskovac and Krusevac, thanks to collaborations with the 'Dante Alighieri' Committee of Vranje and the 'Piazza Italia' Association of Subotica.