Table with Italian cuisine

At the table with Italian cuisine: well-being with taste’ was the theme at the eigth edition of the Worldwide Week of Italian Cuisine (WWIC) being held across three five-star hotels and four Italian restaurants in Colombo. A private event was hosted by the Italian Ambassador Damiano Francovigh showcasing fare from the hotels and restaurants with chefs from Italy in attendance. Chef Lorenzo Alessio, Chef Maria Nasso and Chef Leonardo Ricci were in Sri Lanka cooking at Galle Face Hotel, Cinnamon Grand Colombo and Taj Samudra respectively, while the four restaurants – Lago, Aquaforte, Dolce Italia and Il Mare also weighed-in with their gastronomic fare.

Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka and 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 few key points: creating awareness on Italian food and wines and the territories they come from, promoting the Mediterranean diet, highlighting the importance of geographical indications and taking the 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.”

Ambassador Damiano Francovigh – Italian Ambassador

Samrat From Taj Hotel,Kamal from Kingsbury and Rohan from Galle

Chef Maria Nasso

Chef Lorenzo Alissio

Deputy Ambassador Francesco Perale, Ambassador Damiano Francovigh and chefs

Pics by Buddhika D. Ranasinghe