The “Restaurant Weeks” promoted by the Istituto Valorizzazione Salumi Italiani and ASIAC – the Association formed by the eight largest organisations of Greek fruit producers, in collaboration with the Italian Association of Ambassadors of Taste, will start from 29 November to 19 December.
In 10 restaurants and pizzerias of as many carefully selected Ambassadors of Taste throughout the country, the Let’s EAT – European Authentic Taste project will take place, which will include, among other things, a tasting of both raw and cooked Italian cured meats and Greek fruit.
Inside the restaurants and pizzerias, customers will receive a fun and colourful Panini Group sticker album where the cold meats and fruit are accompanied by portraits of the four Ambassadors of the project, chosen as testimonials of Let’s EAT for their philosophy of life, full of style and energy: Carlo Cracco (chef and television personality), Matteo Eydallin (World Champion in Alpine Skiing), Paola Fraschini (World Champion in artistic roller skating), Tanya Gervasi (model and food blogger). In addition to this gadget, where people will compete to stick the 32 colourful and very ‘pop’ figurines, those who go to the restaurants will also be able to receive a ‘foodie bag’ containing a sample of cold cuts and fruit; a way to continue the journey of flavours even at ‘home’.
But what are the cold cuts and fruit interpreted by the chefs?
As far as Italian cold cuts are concerned, they are bresaola, coppa, cotechino, culatello, guanciale, mortadella, prosciutto cotto, prosciutto crudo, speck and pancetta. For Greek fruit, most have identified the apple as the most suitable fruit for pairing with cold cuts, although the more daring have also chosen cherries, peaches and kiwi.
But which are the protagonists of this journey into taste?
The protagonists of this journey into taste will be: Marco Stabile, of the Ora d’Aria Restaurant in Florence, in his ‘Pommes e pommes de terre, liquorice and prosciutto crudo’ has combined prosciutto and apple with flavours such as liquorice and potatoes; Aurora Mazzucchelli, of Casa Mazzucchelli in Sasso Marconi, proposes ‘Pizza all’orzo toasted with cotechino, cauliflower cream, apple chutney and orange’; Salvatore Salvo at his Pizzeria Salvo in Naples, has included on his menu a pizza with bacon and apples; still in Campania, in Cetara, at Gaetano Torrente’s Ristorante Al Convento we find the ‘Salted zabaglione, crispy bacon and apple brunoise’. Alessandro Billi of the Osteria Billis in Tortona, on the other hand, proposes a very original and innovative combination: that of mortadella and peach to create the ‘Focaccia Filante’. For mountain lovers, in Cavalese (Trento) at Alessandro Gilmozzi of the El Molin Restaurant, there will be the ‘Tortino di mele e speck al taglio tradizionale’. Eleonora Andriolo chef at Ristorante Acchiappagusto, in Arcugnano (Vicenza) has instead chosen culatello and cherries for the dish with the unusual name ‘Up with the spirit’. Corrado Scaglione, of the Enosteria Lipen, gave the pizza the name ‘Let’s Eat’ and it is stuffed with bresaola and apples, while cooked ham was the charcuterie chosen by Vincenzo Butticè, of the Ristorante il Moro in Monza in his ‘The Pink, parfait of cooked ham and apple’. Among the cities, Rome could not be left out, with Luciano Monosilio who chose as his fruit, and he was the only one to do so, the kiwi to which he matched the coppa.
A roundup of tastes and flavours from north to south that will leave you breathless, surprising the consumer to see combinations that are as unique as they are original.
