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.

Consulate of Italy in Karachi celebrates “Week of Italian Cuisine in the World” with culinary workshop ‘Handmade Pasta and Italian Artisanal Desserts’.

The “Week of Italian Cuisine in the World” is the annual thematic review dedicated to the promotion of quality Italian cuisine and food products, promoted by our network of Embassies, Consulates world-wide. This year’s edition restarts from the roots of our tradition, capturing the bicentenary of the birth of Pellegrino Artusi, father of Italian home cooking, to propose a focus on the essential relationship that binds the Italian gastronomic heritage to its territories of origin.

Chef Marco Saracino runs VICOLO, an Italian restaurant located at Dubai Design District, Dubai. Marco has been with Nakheel Hospitality and Leisure Group since 2018, and has successfully led the kitchens of five restaurants across the city including Il Faro, Trattoria, Asian Kitchen, Piazza Pizza and La Cucina with the group, with traditional cooking styles and simple authentic ingredients as he showcases the best of Italy.

The culinary workshop ‘Handmade Pasta and Italian Artisanal Desserts’ has been organized as part of the celebrations of Italian Cuisine Week in Karachi to promote Italian gastronomic traditions and train the professionals from the hotel/restaurant/café (HORECA) sector to learn the basic methods and techniques of creating delectable recipes and decadent desserts using Italian ingredients.  

The aim of the workshop was to promote Italian ingredients used in the HoReCa sector and to create awareness about quality products that enhances the taste and presentation of the recipes created by chefs.

Marco Saracino, the Italian Chef created simple recipes during the workshop which included the Italian staple recipes of Gnocchi and fresh pasta followed by Italian Truffles and Tort ail Tronco al Cioccolato (chocolate cake). The culinary workshop was followed by a tasting session for the audience to tantalize their taste buds and experience Italian gastronomy at their best.