At the table with Italian cuisine: well-being with taste’ is the theme at the 8th edition of the Worldwide Week of Italian Cuisine (WWIC) being held across three five-star hotels and four Italian restaurants in Colombo. From the 13th to the 19th of November, award-winning chefs from Italy will be sharing their artistry in the kitchen with chefs at The London Grill Cinnamon Grand Colombo, 1864 at Galle Face Hotel & Ports of Call at the Taj Samudra. Chef Lorenzo Alessio, Chef Maria Nasso and Chef Leonardo Ricci will be in Sri Lanka during the week-long festival, while four restaurants – Lago, Aquaforte, Dolce Italia and Il Mare will also weigh in with their gastronomic fare.

With the legacy of Italian cuisine reverting way back into the era of the Romans, with the world’s first ever recipe book De Re Coquinaria written by Apicius in the first century AD, Italy etched itself as a harbinger of change on the global cuisine map. The festival therefore will combine the multiple flavours of Italian cuisine built on that strong bond of the Mediterranean diet coupled with the tradition of the age-old craft of wine. Colombo will be savouring the goodness of fresh agricultural produce as well, the quintessential mainstay of Italian fare. Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka & the Maldives Damiano Francovigh says, “During the previous seven editions, 300 diplomatic and consular offices in more than 100 countries held over 9.500 events, making the WWIC one of the most successful initiatives to support Italian culture and lifestyle in the world. This year, our aim is to have the greatest number of Sri Lankans enjoy authentic Italian cuisine, first-hand.”

The Ambassador adds that not only has the Embassy collaborated with some of the finest hotels and restaurants in the city with special menus developed by Italian chefs, “But these chefs will also be conducting training programmes with the Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka. We believe it is important to focus on training and developing Sri Lankan chefs for the future, especially in a country where tourism has so much potential.” The WWIC is based on a few key points:  creating awareness of Italian food and wines and the territories they come from, promoting the Mediterranean diet, highlighting the importance of geographical indications and taking Italian expertise in hospitality to the world via training.

Adding some words of confidence, the Ambassador said, “In Sri Lanka, it is very possible to prepare excellent Italian dishes right throughout the year, using Italian recipes and combining Italian products with fresh local ingredients.  This is a lasting legacy that will continue even after WWIC because in Sri Lanka, we can produce amazing Italian dishes, every single day.”