In collaboration with the Italian protection Consortia, “I Love Italian Food” network has decided to tell the story of Italy and its typical cheeses with the aim of protecting them and promoting their authenticity. And how better to promote Italian PDO products if not through the symbol of Italian Street Food? It was decided to use the ‘panino’ (sandwich) as the basis for each of the 16 recipes. Each recipe has been signed by an international Chef, who used his skills and originality to create a gourmet sandwich whose main ingredient was one of the four Italian PDO cheeses.
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The project involved sixteen chefs selected from the I Love Italian Food network and resident in four foreign countries, with the aim of giving original points of view related to the habits of consumers on how to combine the Italian cheeses that are protagonists of the project.
STREET FOOD WITH ITALIAN PDO CHEESES: USA
Representing the North American market, Raffaele Solinas, Executive Chef of Osteria Brooklyn and member of AICNY (Associazione Italiana Chef New York) participated with his own recipe. Also from New York, Roberto Caporuscio, famous for being one of the first Italian pizza makers in the Big Apple and owner of the Kestè pizzeria, presented his recipe. Next came Fabrizio Facchini, well-known Chef and member of the board at AICNY. Finally, representing the West Coast, Barbara Pollastrini, Chef of 90210 Kitchen in Los Angeles, submitted her recipe.
JAPAN
The chefs from Japan who participated in this project with their gourmet sandwiches were Peppe Errichiello, Executive Chef and owner of the renowned pizzeria Napoli Sta in Ca’ near Tokyo; Carmine Amarante, Executive Chef of Armani Japan; Imai Kazumasa, Executive Chef of Pepe Rosso Restaurant in Tokyo; Paolo Mazzini, Executive Chef of the 100% Italian restaurant Leone Marciano, located in Yokohama.
FRANCE AND GERMANY
In Europe, eight chefs from the two main export markets for Italian products – France and Germany – were involved in the project.
From France came the recipes of sandwiches by Peppe Cutraro, world champion of contemporary pizza and owner of three restaurants in Paris; Nicola Iovine, Chef and restaurateur of the Iovine’s chain and of the Caterina restaurant; Virginia Baldeschi, Executive Chef of 4 restaurants belonging to the Big Mamma Group; Matteo Caprioli, well-known pizza maker and owner of the Addommè restaurant in Paris.
In Germany, the recipes of four gourmet sandwiches have been elaborated by Francesco Contiero, Chef of the starred restaurant Richard in Berlin; Pasquale Novelli, Chef of the restaurant Dolci Momenti near Dortmund; Luca Martinelli, Chef and owner of the Restaurant Martinelli in Munich; Giorgio Cherubini, Chef patron of the Osteria Der Katzlmacher, historical restaurant in Munich.
THE ITALIAN ‘KING OF SANDWICHES’
All recipes were made by the skillful hands of Daniele Reponi, well-known face of RAI TV and known in Italy as the ‘King of Sandwiches’. Reponi has faithfully reproduced the original recipes of the 16 international chefs, making it possible for the public to see all the steps to be able to recreate them at home. In addition, the King of Sandwiches wanted to pay homage to the four Italian PDO cheeses with an original creation of his, the “Grattacielo ai 4 Formaggi” (4-cheeses skyscraper), which contains the unique taste of all the Italian PDO cheeses involved in a single sandwich.