The Roman civilisation is one of the oldest to ever exist. Its history is rich and long-standing. Its culture is steeped in the arts, architecture and food. Names like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci are well-known throu ghout the world. But these names hail from older times. There is much to learn about modern Italian culture in our part of the world.

That is why, alongside the embassy of Italy, the Italian Trade Commission of Malaysia (also known as the Italian Trade Agency), introduced the inaugural Italian Festival 2016.

The Italian Festival 2016 was held from Nov 19 to 27, 2016 in various countries around the world and Malaysia was one of the chosen countries (the only one in Southeast Asia) to host this cultural milestone.

With the aim of promoting Italian lifestyle and culture through exhibiting its food, fashion and architecture, the week-long event showcased different aspects of Italy through its current trends. The Italian charm was replicated in Malaysia with the presence of prominent Italian connoisseurs in their respective fields.

One of the main reasons Malaysia was chosen was because of its strong partnership in the culinary industry via the ALMA International School of Italian Cuisine and KDU’s culinary arm here in Kuala Lumpur.

The former director of culinary art at ALMA, Chef Giovanni Ciresa, was in Kuala Lumpur to join in the festivities and promote The Extraordinary Italian Taste campaign. About 320 Italians chefs went around the world during the same period to spread awareness of the different Italian cuisines through workshops and dining experiences.

Festivities started with an appreciation dinner, aptly named “A Taste of Italy”, hosted at Il Baccaro Restaurant in Penang. It was followed by the Extraordinary Italian Taste Dinner Pairing, running for two evenings at Zenzero and Sassarosso Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. The Italian Festival ended with a bang at a huge gala dinner at Traders Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Chef Giovanni created special menus for the gastronomical events in Kuala Lumpur. Being familiar with the Malaysia’s food scene he was able to craft dishes which introduced new elements of Italian food.

The Cortenova-born chef easily adapts to our local environment and speaks perfect English, making him the perfect ambassador to spread awareness in Italian cuisine. In fact, he proudly admits that one of his favourite foods in the world is satay.

His love for satay came from his short trips to Kuala Lumpur when he was working as a chef in Singapore two decades ago. He strongly believes that the Italian cuisine scene in Malaysia has greatly evolved over the past 20 years.

“Back then, when I came to Malaysia, people did not know much about Italian cuisine. You would find the typical dishes like pasta and pizza but with the most basic of ingredients like parmesan cheese and standard extra virgin olive oil,” he recalls.

Nowadays, Chef Giovanni says, people are much more knowledgeable when it comes to Italian food. “In terms of ingredients, you can find a wider variety of cheeses in Malaysia now. It is common to find burrata, gorgonzola among other types of cheese that you wouldn’t have found back then.

People are more aware of the importance of having authentic Italian ingredients in their food. You can find authentic ricotta cheese, more Italian extra virgin olive oil of high quality, for example. Restaurants here are also evolving to meet the maturing demands of customers,” he adds.

“There is also more appreciation towards things like wine pairing with food and tasting wines from different regions in Italy,” says Chef Giovanni.

However, there are still plenty of regional dishes that Malaysians and other nations could be exposed to. That is why Chef Giovanni alongside the other Italian chefs are travelling around the world to share their knowledge about the different regions and recipes that are especially crafted to educate diners.

“Each region in Italy varies vastly from one another. Even some Italians from the north may not fully know what different foods are available in the south of Italy.”

Even for him, as a chef, he is continuously learning. The best way for him to learn, he says, is through travelling the different regions and speaking to the locals in the region. “Some of the best chefs travel around Italy and when they are sourcing for ingredients, for instance, they will speak to suppliers directly. You will find chefs who visit the fishing villages to speak to fishermen and personally go to vegetable farms to understand the produce from a farmer’s perspective.”

Chef Giovanni, who personally comes from a family of cheese producers, has always had a penchant for food and grew up in his family’s kitchen, surrounded by the best produce. Yet, he is still learning about Italian cuisine.

“I believe what the world understands about Italian cuisine is what is already well known. But there is so much that is authentic to a certain region and it is only by going to each region will you really understand the full representation of its food culture,” he adds.

Chef Giovanni also hopes that through ALMA’s partnership with KDU, more Malaysians will have the opportunity to be exposed to authentic Italian cuisine. “Malaysian students are extremely passionate in learning about Italian cuisine. When they come to ALMA in Italy, they are able to bring back what they have learnt to Malaysia to share with the country.”

The ALMA and KDU partnership affords students the opportunity to be exposed to Italian cuisine for two months, learning from the finest Italian chefs and also gaining real life experience by practising what they have learnt in Italian Michelin star restaurants.

The collaboration between both schools has been in place since 2012. The number of students has grown exponentially since the partnership. “When it first started, we welcomed two Malaysian students to Italy through the programme. Now, we have over 20,” he shares.

On top of culinary delights, the Italian Festival in Malaysia also showcased fashion and design via fashion lounge and gallery, Logo. Italian brands carried in the store include names like Just Cavalli, DSquared2 as well as Frankie Morello and Stefanel.

Also showcased during the Italian Festival in Malaysia was a presentation by architect Alessandro Cierpella from GAP Architetti Associati in collaboration with Dynaforce Group. It introduced new trends in Italian design and living by incorporating both architecture design and lifestyle wellness and Italian fitness equipment.