Week of the Italian Cuisine in the World 2019

From 18 to 24 November 2019 Cyprus will experience the Extraordinary Italian Taste! On the occasion of the Week of the Italian Cuisine in the World, the Italian Embassy in Nicosia has coordinated a rich program of events to showcase the Italian culinary tradition consisting of quality cuisine, world-renowned gastronomical products and wines.

This year, for the first time, the program offered in Cyprus will include a number of cultural and educational activities aimed at rediscovering the origin of natural products, promoting quality culinary traditions and enhancing the importance of the Mediterranean diet, which is so well rooted in Cyprus and Italy’s gastronomies.

The event is promoted by the Italian diplomatic and cultural network around the globe: the same week, more than 300 cities will celebrate this event, with over 1000 activities inspired by this year theme: “Food Education: The Culture of Taste”.

The extraordinary Italian taste!

The Italian Embassy has called upon restaurants, venues and organizations who are particularly committed to the Italian gastronomical tradition, to celebrate the Week with special menus, tastings, promotions and educational events. This year, which marks the fourth edition of the Week, the Embassy is particularly pleased to announce a large participation with 21 venues throughout the island. They include fine dining and hotel restaurants, trattorias, wine bars and gourmet shops (see below for the complete list of our partners).

AlphaMega

The Embassy is very pleased to collaborate for the second straight year with AlphaMega, the largest hypermarket chain in Cyprus, distributing in his 13 stores on the Island fine Italian gastronomy products. Throughout the Week, AlphaMega will hold a special promotion of Italian quality products and host special cooking demonstrations by Chef Gaetano Billeci and ice-cream Master Lorenza Bernini at its Engomi Hypermarket.

Special guests from Italy

For this enhanced edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine, we are delighted to welcome to Cyprus:

Renowned Italian Chef Gaetano Billeci, who has worked in many prestigious restaurants in Europe, including Paris, London and Palermo (Sicily), where he is currently the owner of the Restaurant Palazzo Branciforte. Chef Billeci will engage in various cooking demonstrations and participate in the variety/lifestyle television show “Me agapi Christiana” hosted by well-known Cypriot presenter Christiana Aristotelous on Alpha TV Cyprus. Chef Billeci is a member of the association “Ambasciatori del Gusto”.
Italian artisan ice-cream Master Lorenza Bernini, owner of an award winning gelato laboratory in Bolsena, who will prepare gelato live at various events in Nicosia. Master Bernini will also give a masterclass in the Higher Hotel Institute of Cyprus.

Exhibition “The Ancient Fruits in Italy and Cyprus”

One of the highlights of the Italian Cuisine Week will be a watercolour exhibition at the Cultural Centre of Strovolos Municipality by Veronica Hadjiphani Lorenzetti, a Cypriot-Italian botanical designer based in Italy. The exhibition, dedicated to the traditional and historical Italian and Cypriot fruit varieties, was last shown in Florence at the Georgofili Academy, a prestigious institution dating back to 1753. The event will be complemented by gelato tastings with ice-cream Master Lorenza Bernini.

Education

The Italian Cuisine Week will also feature educational events:

The Higher Hotel Institute of Cyprus has recently organized, with the support of the Italian Embassy, a series of lunches based on traditional Italian dishes. The Institute will also host a gelato masterclass by ice-cream Master Lorenza Bernini.
The Cyprus Committee of the Dante Alighieri Society will host lectures on the history of the coffee and the Neapolitan pizza tradition and culture.

The Mediterranean Diet

The Italian Cuisine Week is an important occasion to highlight the Mediterranean diet, which has proved to be a fundamental factor in lowering the risk of non-communicable diseases as part of a healthy lifestyle. Both Italy and Cyprus are active partners in the “Group of Friends of the Healthy and Sustainable Diets” they have founded at the United Nations and are strongly committed to promoting it in various international fora.

The Embassy of Italy in Nicosia is actively supporting initiatives aiming at raising awareness on the importance of the Mediterranean diet in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Health of Cyprus, in particular through the organization of educational presentations in schools and specific workshops and symposiums.

The full program of events in Cyprus is published on the Italian Embassy website. For more information on the fourth Week of Italian Cuisine in the World and the Mediterranean diet, please visit the Italian Ministry of Foreign affairs and International Cooperation website, which includes a leaflet and an educational video series.