On November 16, Tourism College of Zhejiang (TCZJ) and the Shanghai Representative Office of the Italian Foreign Trade Commission jointly organized the signing ceremony of the Italian Culinary Education Cooperation Program and the Italian Culinary Education Workshop in Hangzhou. On the same day, the Italian delegation led by Mr. Augusto Di Giacinto, chief representative of the Shanghai Representative Office of the Italian Foreign Trade Commission, also met with the faculty and students led by Ms. Wang Fang, vice president of TCZJ.

This event coincides with the Italian Food Week (November 14-20). Before the workshop started, the Italian Consulate in Shanghai, the Shanghai Representative Office of the Italian Foreign Trade Commission and Tourism College of Zhejiang held a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Italian Food Week is initiated by the Italian government and promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,  Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policy, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Economic Development.

At the meeting, two sides held a signing ceremony for the "Italian Culinary Education Cooperation Program". Initiated by the Italian Foreign Trade Commission in 2021, this program consists of three parts, Italian culinary education videos (master courses), workshops, and faculty summer training camps. TCZJ will apply the master courses videos to the teaching and enrich students’ culinary knowledge by focusing on six themes, namely pasta, cured meat and cheese, olive oil and Italian vinegar, bread, pizza, and Italian ice cream. In the mean time, two teachers will attend the Italian cooking summer training camp in Shanghai and communicate with chefs from top Italian restaurants in Shanghai.

Mr. Augusto Di Giacinto, chief representative of the Shanghai Representative Office of the Italian Foreign Trade Commission, said that food is the primary need of people. China and Italy are two countries known for their gourmet food. Behind the food is the discussion and recognition of food culture in these countries. Today's event proves that there will definitely be more exchanges in food culture between the two countries.

On behalf of the college, vice president of TCZJ Ms. Wang Fang extended her warmest welcome to the Italian delegation. She said that the friendly exchanges between the two great civilizations have a long history. She hoped that this event could be an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding, mutual benefits and partnership through more events in the future.

The Italian Culinary Education Workshop, part of the Italian Culinary Education Program, was held in Hangzhou on the same day. The Italian Foreign Trade Commission invited Italian chef Fabio to demonstrate the Italian culinary art with students from the college. Mr. Fabio picked representative Italian cuisine recipes from the master courses videos, such as Tortellini in Broth, through which the diversity of Italian food culture, features of ingredients protected by geographical indications, and principles and processes of Italian cooking were explained. Meanwhile, students took turns to practice traditional Italian recipes: such as spaghetti with pesto Genovese, fried veal, deep-fried pizza, etc.

It is worth mentioning that the students participating in the workshop are from the Italian Culinary Art Class of TCZJ. They are the second class since the founding of the Sino-Italian Culinary Institute two years ago. In 2020, the college launched the Italian Culinary Art Education Program. Teaching resources have been integrated to provide three courses on Italian culinary art (Italian language, Italian food culture and culinary art) both online and offline. 27 students obtained the Certificate of Completion from the Italian Association of Professional Chefs. Up to date, it has been the second year for this special program.

On this day, professional Italian food lecturer were invited by the Italian Foreign Trade Commission to introduce the history and culture of the Italian food to over 120 officials, guests, faculty and students. The lecture demonstrated the development of Italian food and the diversity of the Italian food culture.

To help students understand Italian food and healthy lifestyle from the source, the lecturer gave a detailed interpretation of the ingredients protected by Italian geographical indications. The final part of the lecture included tasting Italian ingredients for sensory experience (such as olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cheese and ham), as well as the Q&A session.

The Certificate of Completion of the Italian Culinary Education Program was also awarded to 320 students from TCZJ who previously participated in the master courses jointly launched by the Italian Foreign Trade Commission and ALMA Culinary Education Institute.