The Italian Embassy in Seoul will hold a World Week of Italian Cuisine in Seoul from November 19 to 23 as part of a global initiative to promote Italian food in 110 countries. This is the third year the Italian Embassy will be hosting the event in South Korea, along with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ITCCK), Italian Cultural Institute in Seoul, and Italian Trade Agency. The main theme is Mediterranean seafood. Olive oil has been adopted as a representative of the Mediterranean diet at the Korean event, and experts will run seminars while offering food tastings to promote its nutritional value.
WORLD WEEK OF ITALIAN CUISINE DEDICATED TO MEDITERRANEAN DIET
“Seafood is a huge part of the Mediterranean diet and a strong element of the Italian food culture. It is a symbol of healthy cuisine,” ITCCK Vice Secretary General Jacopo Giuman said. “It is getting popular around the world nowadays”. The Ospitalità Italiana, an annual event to award prizes certifying restaurants that are authentically Italian, will be held on November 19 at Section A in Yongsan, Seoul, as part of the World Week of Italian Cuisine. “Agriculture is an important sector that raises the state value of Italy and it has been recording consistent growth in exports. We’ve witnessed it here as well with import of Italian food increasing 20% this year compared to that of last year. This shows how much Koreans have high preference to Italian food,” Italian Ambassador to Korea Marco della Seta said.
OSPITALITÀ ITALIANA
“The Ospitalità Italiana is granted to all Italian restaurants around the world that are able to embrace deeply the authentic Italian tradition and culture while promoting it through their business. For many years, the Italian government wished to create a global restaurant network that allows the realization of events aimed at the enhancement of the territories of origin of typical products and therefore, use this network to guarantee the authenticity of the typical Italian brands through the promotional events”, Giuman said.
MY SECRET ITALIAN RECIPE
Six more events are scheduled, including an award ceremony for ‘My Secret Italian Recipe’ on November 19, a ‘Discovering Italian Olive Oil’ seminar on November 20 and ‘Business dinner con lo chef Davide Cardellini’ on November 21. ‘My Secret Italian Recipe’ will award a journalist who has produced the most popular Italian food content and an influencer who has shared a unique Italian recipe on social media. The ‘Discovering Italian Olive Oil’ seminar will invite various experts in the field including ingredient master Paolo Rocchi to share information about the nature of olive oil and where and how it is used.