On the occasion of the Fifth World Week of the Italian Cuisine, the Embassy of Italy in Pretoria has chosen to enshrine the best of Italian cuisine in South Africa in two gala evenings in Cape Town and Pretoria, respectively on 23 and 28 November 2020, with the participation of some among the most renowned Italian chefs in the country.
Celebrating also the 200-year anniversary since the birth of the great Italian chef Pellegrino Artusi, the events have had a common thread in the Mediterranean Diet as a model of health and balanced nutrition, and the excellence of Italian agri-food products.
In the words of Ambassador Paolo Cuculi, “we wanted to offer our guests a culinary journey through the unique richness of the flavours and traditions of the Italian regions, guided by twelve of the most prestigious Italian restaurants in South Africa, whose chefs created the menus of the Residences of Cape Town and Pretoria or intervened virtually, allowing us to involve a much wider public and establish a lively interaction with the special evenings organized in parallel in each of their venues”. For each event, moreover, a selection of top Italian wines has been presented, along with others produced by Italian winemakers in South Africa.
Special attention has been given to the themes of sustainability and transparency of agri-food production and the contribution of modern technologies to this end. The Embassy has indeed sourced the fish used for the Cape Town reception from the South African non-profit Abalobi, which through an innovative application has made its mission to contribute towards thriving, equitable and sustainable small-scale fishing communities and full traceability “from hook to fork”, while, in an ideal bridge between the two continents, the Italian Agriculture Research Council (CREA) presented its most advanced activities to protect biodiversity and promote sustainable fishing in the Mediterranean.
The key moments of the Fifth Week of the Italian Cuisine in the World and its protagonists will be narrated in a documentary by the South African Director Johnathan Andrews, to be published soon on the Embassy’s website and social media.
The restaurants
Cape Town and the Western Cape
Watch the video to find out about the participating restaurants and chefs!
Carne - Gardens, Cape Town
Enrico - Keurboomstrand, Plettenberg Bay
https://enricorestaurant.co.za
Idiom - Somerset West
https://idiom.co.za/restaurant/
Il Leone Mastrantonio - Waterkant, Cape Town
https://www.mastrantonio.com/il-leone-mastrantonio/
Pesce Azzurro - Woodstock, Cape Town
Pretoria & Johannesburg
Watch the video to find out more about the participating restaurants and chefs!
Alfie's Italian Cafè - Hazelwood, Pretoria
https://www.alfies.co.za/italian-cafe/
Forti Grill and Bar - Time Square, Menlyn, Pretoria
Fumo - Groenkloof, Pretoria
La Cucina di Ciro - Parktown North, Johannesburg
Mastrantonio - Illovo, Johannesburg
https://www.mastrantonio.com/menu/
Settebello at the Italian Club - Bedfordview, Germiston
Stelle - Sandton, Johannesburg
