Week of Italian Cuisine celebrates more than just food, ambassador says

Home > National > Diplomacy

Week of Italian Cuisine celebrates more than just food, ambassador says

Published: 17 Nov. 2024, 14:52

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Ambassador of Italy to Korea Emilia Gatto speaks during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Italian Embassy in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Oct. 28. [PARK SANG-MOON]

The ninth annual Week of Italian Cuisine kicked off Saturday, with Italian embassies around the globe hosting various events to celebrate the world-renowned gastronomical experience that is Italian food.

The Italian Embassy in Seoul is, of course, participating in the Week of Italian Cuisine, with this year's theme being “The Mediterranean Diet and Culinary Roots: Health and Tradition,” focusing on ingredients and recipes from the Apulia region of southern Italy.

“We have prepared a diverse array of events for this year’s Week of Italian Cuisine, which we hope the Korean people will enjoy,” said Emilia Gatto, Italian ambassador to Korea, in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Oct. 28 at the Italian Embassy in Yongsan District, central Seoul. “We hope that through this celebration of Italian cuisine, we can promote not only our own food and culture but learn reciprocally about Korean culture as well.”

Events during the Week of Italian Cuisine include tasting experiences, nutrition seminars, cooking master classes, networking breakfasts for women in business and the handing out ceremonies of certificates by the Italian embassy to prominent Italian restaurants in Korea. Events are happening not only in Seoul but also in Yeosu, South Jeolla, with High Street Italia, the Italian Embassy and various universities as the main locations.

Gatto also outlined the strengths of Korean soft power, ways to expand cultural exchanges between Korea and Italy and additional sectors in which the two countries can cooperate closely.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Participants are seen cooking pasta and other dishes during a master class event held as part of last year's Week of Italian Cuisine at High Street Italia in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [EMBASSY OF ITALY]

Tell us in detail about the events prepared as part of the Week of Italian Cuisine and what you look forward to regarding Korean participation.

This is a very important initiative in the promotion of Italian cuisine. All embassies and consulates of Italy, which is a very big network, are celebrating simultaneously, with the Foreign Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and Trade Ministry also participating. We are hosting tasting events, nutrition seminars and cooking master classes with figures from Italy coming to Korea. It’s not a single event but a series of many events as part of the overall week celebrating Italian cuisine. We try to operate under the principle of contamination — which may seem a strange word to use, but it means that for Korea and Italy, we could influence each other through culture and cuisine and find a lot of similarities.

Is there a special focus of this year’s Week of Italian Cuisine?

This year, we celebrate the Apulia region of southern Italy. Apulia, at the heel of the boot that is Italy, is an area that foreign tourists are just not discovering, and it is a region with many traditions, heritage and fantastic olive oil. In general, the northern part of Italy is more industrial, and the southern is more agricultural, with this division dating back to the unification of Italy. In that sense, Apulia is a representative region of southern Italy. The president of the region of Apulia is coming to Korea too, and we have two Michelin-starred chefs coming as well for the Week of Italian cuisine, one of whom is from Apulia, Cristina Bowerman. We also have Fabrizio Ferrari, who has settled here in Korea, participating with Bowerman. Additionally, High Street Italia, an exhibition and trade center in Gangnam dedicated to Italy, will be the location for presentations of certificates of Italian hospitality given out by our embassy.

Ambassador of Italy to Korea Emilia Gatto poses for a photo during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Italian Embassy in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Oct. 28. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Do you see similarities between Korean and Italian cuisine?

Both cuisines are very healthy, we use a lot of vegetables and sauces and most of all we pay a lot of attention to ingredients. I mentioned the contamination approach, and part of that is that as we make Italy better known in Korea, we can make Korea better known in Italy as well. Korea and Korean cuisine are becoming increasingly popular in Italy, too.

Another important element connected to cultural exchanges is education. How are Korea and Italy engaging in people-to-people education exchanges?

We, of course, want to promote more and more exchanges, and during the period of the Week of Italian Cuisine, we also have an event presenting our excellent universities to Korean students because I believe many Korean students want to come to Italy to study, especially students studying music to become opera singers — Koreans are great opera singers, and sometimes I am surprised by how good they are. So, we want to encourage Korean students to come and study in our universities because our institutions are outstanding and have very strong traditions.

A chef holds up plates of Italian dishes during a cooking master class event held as part of last year's Week of Italian Cuisine at High Street Italia in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [EMBASSY OF ITALY]

Why do you think Korea and Korean culture have become popular in Europe, including in Italy?

First of all, the economic miracle Korea has achieved is extraordinary, but from the other side, the soft power you have developed is also very commendable. But I also think that Korean soft power is not just K-pop, and there is still a lot that is undiscovered abroad. As ambassador to Korea, I see it as my job to let people in my country, and Europe in general, know that Korea is not only K-pop and advanced economics, just as I wish for the Korean people to know that Italy is not just fresh food, furniture and fashion.

What industries do you envision Korea and Italy cooperating on further?

I think it is interesting how, for Koreans, the concentration over the years was very much on applied science, which gave a lot of good results. Korea and Italy can also cooperate in space — I want to share that we are the third country in the world to send a satellite into space after the former Soviet Union and the United States. We are very advanced in space technology and also very much concentrated on basic sciences. So, scientific cooperation between Korea and Italy, with our different focuses, would be fruitful.

A plate of Italian pasta is seen during a cooking master class event held as part of last year's Week of Italian Cuisine at High Street Italia in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [EMBASSY OF ITALY]

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]