Parma has announced a series of events that will be taking place this year as Italy celebrates “Year of Italian food”. The main event is the City of Gastronomy Festival, an event that aims to offer a ‘taste experience’ and express the creativity of the region.
Temporary restaurants, show cooking by chefs from all over the world and a number of meetings and discussions will be held in the heart of Parma. The event takes place in the first weekend of June.
It will showcase not just the produce of Parma and the region Emilia Romagna but also those of other Italian and international cities.
The festival takes place on Saturday 2 June and Sunday 3 June. The festival aims to give a 360 degrees view of the world of food focusing on traditional produce and on made in Italy with the aim of sharing knowledge and flavours. A workshop for children and young people is going to be organised in collaboration with food museums and it will be linked to food preparation, its origin and ecological themes.
Special guests at this festival are ten UNESCO creative city of gastronomy ambassadors of taste as well as other cities such as Alba, Asiago, Bourg-en-Bresse and Epernay.
“The event is the result of a reflection and of action of local operators who want to add value to the local produce and the culture of food. Food is not just a product to be tasted but also represents community,” said Cristiano Casa, Councillor of the Municipality of Parma.
The events will be held in Piazza Ghiaia which will be transformed into a big agora with cooking by Michelin-starred chefs. Temporary restaurants will be set up in the square. On the other hand, at the Portici del Grano, chefs will be able to not just cook but also speak about tradition, science and attention to detail. The Palazzo del Governatore will host meetings, talk shows and lectures which will be projected to the main square. The topic for discussion is the the future in the dish. Guests from the world of food will discuss the challenges of globalisation, global warming and techinology in the sector. On Saturday morning, the discussion will centre of innovation in cooking while the afternoon will be dedicated to Italian cuisine and the challenges faced today. On Sunday, the focus is on the world of agriculture and the importance to return to terroir while Sunday evening, the focus will be on Neapolitan pizza.
The complete programme of the festival will be online here.
Parma was declared Creative City of Gastronomy UNESCO in 2015 and in 2020 will be the Italian Capital of Culture.
Other events will take place during the year. Between May 5 and 13 the City of Gastronomy Cibus will be organised which will coincide with the Cibus 2018 fair.
The events continue in the month of September with City of Gastronomy Taste which will be a month rich with events. The main focus will be Parma Ham, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, pasta and tomato.
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