06th Edition of ‘Italian Cuisine Week’ kicks-off with Ho-Re-Ca Summit here in Karachi.

The Consulate of Italy in Karachi organized The HoReCa summit during the 06^th Edition of Italian Cuisine Week at lush green lawns of Avari Towers, Karachi. This event show-cased food-ingredients and food-samples using Italian goods with the aim of engaging B2B and B2C customers for Hotels + Restaurants + Cafés (aka HoReCa) sector.

During Italian Cuisine Week, the Italian foreign missions all over the world collaborate with their partners to promote Italian culinary traditions, local sustainable agri-food products and exports by organizing promotional activities like workshops, seminars and tastings. 06^th Edition of Italian Cuisine Week starts started on 22^nd November 2021 and will go on till 28^th November 2021 with slogan ‘To explore the Extra Ordinary Italian Taste’.

The Consul General of Italy in Karachi, Mr. Danilo Guirdanella welcomed the audience and spoke about the benefits of Mediterranean diet as a balanced diet model for a healthy lifestyle, as well as the protection and enhancement of products with a protected and controlled Italian Designation of Origin (DOP).

One of the highlights of the event was the sampling of Italian artisanal cheese by Cheese Expert, Antonio Fracciolla, who shared his expertise with artisanal cheese suppliers in the local market. He also briefed the audience on the history and importance of cheese making in Italian culture, which they take great pride. The cheese samples brought by the Cheese Expert from Italy are trademarked under the Protected Designation of Origin (DOP).

Chef Samuele Crestale conducted a live cooking demonstration for the visitors. He cooked ‘pisarei-e-faso’, a classic bean and pasta dish from Emilia Romagna region and a decadent semi-frozen dessert called ‘semi-freddo-al-fondente’.

Participation from local companies included Blue Mountain, Coffees Etc., Kohala, Horeca Systems and Pakeeza Kitchen Equipment’s. These local companies displayed recipe-creations using the Italian products, while Real Cheese and The Vittles Company were present as local cheese vendors.

Italian Consulate in Karachi hosts ‘Extraordinary Evening of Italian Gastronomy’.

The Consul General of Italy in Karachi, H.E. Danilo Giurdanella and wife Ms. Antonella Bartolomucci organized an ‘Extraordinary Evening of Italian Gastronomy’ with Italian Chef, Marco Saracino, who came to Karachi to celebrate the World Week of Italian Cuisine in Karachi.

Chef Marco Saracino hosted an exclusive session of live cooking, where he created simple yet delectable recipes that are staple in Mediterranean cuisine. Chef Marco Saracino together with the Executive Chef at Avari and his team have been working closely for the last few days in an attempt to provide authentic Italian flavors in Karachi.

Chef Marco Saracino not only displayed his culinary excellence, but also imparted awareness about the benefits of Mediterranean diet. He also demonstrated two Italian recipes that are part of the rich Italian culinary tradition.

The theme of the event is “Knowledge and Flavors of the Italian Lands, 200 years after the birth of Pellegrino Artusi”, who is known as the father of Italian home cooking.

The recipes and menù prepared by the Chef Marco Saracino for the evening has been inspired from Pellegrino Artusi’s book titled ‘Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well’, a cookbook known as the gospel of Italian cuisine and was published in the late 19^th century.

To pay tribute to Pellegrino Artusi, the Consulate of Italy in collaboration with Paramount Books (Pvt.) Limited published a cookbook with selected recipes of the father of Italian home cooking to suit the local Pakistani palate and yet have an authentic Italian flavor.

The initiative is part of the “Vivere ALL’Italiana” plan, launched by the Italian Foreign Ministry to engage public and private entities in an integrated promotion of Made in Italy around the world.

The event has been organized in collaboration with Avari Towers as venue partners, Quality Aviation as Travel Partners and Italian Development Committee (IDC) along with its member companies, who came forward as sponsors for the event, namely Best Board Industries, Blue Mountain Trading, Axis Design, Bee Pure, Jitala Group of Companies, Horeca Systems, Gharyal by Collectibles, Novacolor by Innovators, Woodcraft.

The Consulate also promoted the joint economic cooperation between the government of Italy and Pakistan to promote locally sourced and processed Olive Oil under Italian expertise and cooperation. Selected products by Pak Olive were displayed at the event to create awareness about Italy’s engagement in Pakistan besides textiles, leather and engineering. Another interesting aspect of the evening was the honey tasting of a locally produced organic honey Beepure. The honey harvested in Pakistan is from a peculiar type of honeybee called ‘apis mellifera’ that was introduced in Pakistan from Italy in 1927.

The weeklong activities include the Chef’s appearance on electronic and digital culinary platforms in Karachi to promote Italian cuisine to the masses and to introduce new recipes besides Pizza and pasta that Italy is usually known for. Besides, these, the Chef during his stay in Karachi will train chefs from the HoReCa sector on Italian Cuisine.

World’s tallest mural by a single artist ‘Rising Blue’ unveiled at Centrepoint Tower.

A 286.67 feet tall public art mural made by Italian artist Giuseppe Percivati called ‘Rising Blue’ was unveiled at Centrepoint on Saturday evening. This unveiling was done by panel of distinguished dignitaries including Jameel Yusuf Ahmed Chairman TPL Properties, Amin Hashwani President I Am Karachi (IAK), Anna Rufihno Italian Consul-General for Karachi, Giuseppe Percivati (aka Pepe Gaka) Artist of this mural, Maqbool H. H. Rahimtoola Chairman Berger Paints Pakistan, Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar Chairman Karachi Port Trust, Ambareen Thompson Executive Director I Am Karachi (IAK) and many others.

This mural is part of the project that is an initiative of the International Public Art Festival (IPAF) under I AM Karachi (IAK), in collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy, TPL Corp and Berger Paints. This mural in on Centrepoint a property owned by TPL Properties (TPL Corp) is ideally located at the end of Shaheed-e-Millat Expressway near Qayyumabad. What makes it ideal, is its proximity to best industrial area of Karachi i.e. Korangi Industrial Area along-with premier residential locality of Karachi by the name of DHA.

Formal proceeding of this unveiling event started off with Mr. Jameel Yusuf Ahmed Chairman TPL Properties welcoming all the guests at this unveiling ceremony. He specially thanked Italian Consulate, Berger Paints, the artist Mr. Giuseppe Percivati and the support staff at Centrepoint for making this record breaking feat possible. He said; “Pepe Gakka worked tirelessly from dawn till 06:30 in the evening to complete this mural”.

chairman of International Public Art Festival (IPAF) Mr. Jameel Yusuf Ahmed said; “this mural traces the stunning coastline of Karachi and the mangroves which supports Pakistan’s eco-system and also is a breeding ground for marine life and birds. It depicts the rise of a nation, of a voice, of the awakening of a conscience of climate change. It is also symbolic of us as a nation: how we keep rising despite our setbacks”.

He also went on to inform that; “the ‘red dot’ on the top of the mural, dates back to Britain’s greatest art rivalry during the 18^th century between the nation’s two most renowned painters Joseph Mallord William Turner and John Constable”.

John Constable’s painting “The Opening of Waterloo Bridge” was hung alongside Turner’s latest seascape. The surface of Constable’s painting stood out, leaving its rival Joseph Mallord William Turner in the shadow. Turner retaliated by painting a red dot in the middle of his green sea, changing the entire composition. Suddenly it looked a lot more exciting, experimental and set alight by red in a moment of pure painterly freedom. Turner’s historical red dot had profound influence on the birth of modern art – the concept of ‘less is more.’ Interestingly the red dot also represents the logo of Centrepoint.

Mr. Amin Hashwani President I Am Karachi (IAK) spoke about reclaiming Karachi’s heritage and said that; “we with our IAK initiative are trying best reclaiming Karachi long lost heritage. We are paining the walls and old buildings to attract normal citizens. We have painted more than 5000 spaces and we also have organized musical concerts at various sites one of them being Port Grand. We are trying our best but we would need more from corporate sector and from public sector”.

Ms. Anna Rufihno Italian Consul-General for Karachi spoke about; “mural being a message of peace and friendship and this mural is also a cry of alarm for mangroves and ecosystems of Karachi. With the subject was the conservation of mangroves in Pakistan especially along the coast of Sindh, which was why it was a great gift to Karachi.

She thanked the Italian Artist Giuseppe Percivati (aka Pepe Gakka) for his tireless efforts and informed that “this talented artist had worked in Karachi before at IPAF and also worked in several other countries such as the US, Portugal, Australia and Japan”. She further thanked and also Etihad Airways for arranging transportation and finally to event organizers I Am Karachi for doing valuable work for the city. “Italian Consulate will continue to help I Am Karachi as it has done before”. She concluded.

Mr. Giuseppe Percivati (aka Pepe Gaka) is a mural artist from Italy. His work includes depictions of the relationship between human beings and nature, creating pieces that are in harmony with their surroundings. He said; “this project took about nine days to paint but months for preparation. He first came in July to find a location and as soon as he saw the TPL Tower (Centrepoint) he thought of it as the perfect place.”

He thanked the people behind the project, especially Jameel Yusuf Ahmed chairman IPAF, Ambareen Thompson Executive Director (IAK) and Amin Hashwani President (IAK) for lending their support to him. She specially thanked the support staff at Centrepoint for taking care of day to day needs. Pepe Gakka also mentioned the terrific support and co-ordination from Italian Consulate and his travel sponsor Etihad Airways.

He said; “Karachi is a beautiful city but has been neglected a bit. It’s called the City of Lights but sometimes it’s more like a city of dust. People of Karachi are beautiful. The city can be as beautiful as Milan, Rome or London. I cannot take all the credit for the mural because a lot of people are involved and I would love to do more project like this one”.

Maqbool H. H. Rahimtoola Chairman Berger Paints Pakistan said; “he was honoured to be a part of this record breaking mural. He said this project has been completed with ‘Berger Weather Shield’ paint which can surely withstand extreme weather conditions.

Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar Chairman Karachi Port Trust said; “I Am Karachi (IAK) is doing an extraordinary work for this city and I am proud to be a part of this initiative”. He announced that; “we are embarking upon another project of similar scale, details of which will be announced within next three months and I am sure that this upcoming project will be bring tremendous happiness to residents of that locality but also for the visitors”. He pledged to give a blank cheque to the organizers for this project”.

Ambareen Thompson Executive Director I Am Karachi (IAK) said; “my team and I have been working tirelessly for past four years to change city’s narrative and it seems now that we are getting some level of success here. We are working to create a soft image of our city Karachi and I would request everyone for come forward and support us as you can, be it moral, physical or financial support”.

Ambareen Thompson announced that the International Public Art Festival (IPAF 2020) will be held at the NED University of Engineering & Technology from 07^th February 2020 ~ 13^th February 2020.

After the final speech from Ambareen Thompson, shields were distributed among the stake holders of this mural after which they proceeded towards plaque for declaring the mural officially open.