Italy n Israel

The Italian culinary week that took place in Israel, as well as in dozens of countries around the world, included a series of events that exposed Israelis to Italy’s rich culinary culture. This year, the focus was on promoting the Mediterranean diet, its importance and its components, with a speciÈc emphasis on cultural aspects. The Italian culinary week, for those who do not know, is already an institution. It began about three years ago and at the same time was conducted in 105 countries with more than 1,300 events around the world. The vision was to promote Italian culinary tradition, with the link between all the events in the host countries being the Italian gastronomic world of authentic traditions and quality products. The culinary week in Israel is the initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with ENIT - the agency that promotes tourism in Italy. Together with the Italian Embassy and other Italian institutions in Israel - the Italian gastronomic tradition has successfully seeped into chefs’ kitchens in Israel. So what did we have? The series of events opened with a festive gala at the home of Ambassador Gianluigi Benedetti, where the Italian Michelin star chef Ciro Scamardella from the Italian restaurant Pipero in Rome prepared a special menu for the ambassador’s guests. Chef Scamardella represents a traditional and innovative kitchen, and he also taught cooking at the Danon Culinary School for the next generation of promising chefs in Israel. Veteran chef Shaul Ben Aderet was intrigued and he also came to see the work of Scamardella. That same evening, another Michelin star chef, the famous Italian chef Giancarlo Morelli, famed for his natural cuisine, arrived at chef Orel Kimchi’s Popina restaurant, and the two cooked a 6-course meal for diners to enjoy the chef’s dishes. Many businesspeople attended. The next day, the wonder boy of Italian cuisine, Ciro Scamardella, toured the Carmel Market to get to know the Israeli raw materials and even tasted local dishes, which were to his satisfaction. Together with chef Paolo D’Ercole, he cooked improvised dishes from everything he had collected on the market in the Italian restaurant BOCCA BOCCA. In the evening, a festive cocktail was held at which Gianluigi Benedetti, Italian ambassador to Israel, Ronni Benatoff, chairman of the Italy-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv, Uri Sirkis, Israir CEO, famous blogger Ashley Waxman-Bakshi, journalist Noa Rozin attended. The event’s guests enjoyed the dishes that were served by Chef Morelli, including a dish of Argyrosomus regius Èsh in garlic sauce and pumpkin cream, risotto Ţhis Éagship dish) and for dessert - tiramisu (how can you not?!) There was also a conference on Mediterranean health and nutrition in cooperation with the Israeli Ministry of Health, which was attended by researchers and experts from Italy who met with their Israeli counterparts. The purpose of the conference was to share research and information on the uniqueness of the Mediterranean diet, due to it being the world’s healthiest diet, based on natural materials and tradition. The culinary week ended with a fascinating cooking workshop with chef Morelli for Israeli chefs. Young chefs took part, as did veteran ones, including the beloved chef Haim Cohen.

All photos by Rotem Barak