Interview: Rosario Scarpato
Why did you decide to hold the fifth edition of The Italian Cuisine World Summit in Dubai?
Honestly the first reason was chef Luca Signoretti of Roberto’s restaurant. He insisted that Dubai was ready for an event such as the summit, and when we started to work on the project we got the confirmation that he was right. Dubai has a few important elements for the success of quality Italian cuisine: an excellent hospitality infrastructure; chefs educated in Italy; quality ingredients from Italy readily available; and, overall, a fantastic market of local and visiting consumers, who love Italian cuisine and are prepared to pay a little bit extra to have quality and authenticity.
What is your opinion of Italian cuisine in the city? Is it authentic, or not?
Generalisations are always to be avoided, of course. I tried a few restaurants and noticed that their chefs have a willingness to be authentic, which is good. Often however they have to deal with the limitations of keeping food costs low — the worst enemy of authenticity — and to work with staff who have not been trained in Italian cuisine.
Tell us more about the competitions that will be held?
Culinary competitions are held to raise the level of the available offer. What are the most popular items of Italian cuisine? Pasta, pizza and espresso. They have become global culinary icons, exploited by unscrupulous profit seekers who don’t care about quality and identity. The three competitions we are holding during the summit aim at the opposite: we want to reward the chefs for their pasta, and both the pizza and espresso makers who, without losing creativity, prioritise authenticity and quality in what they do. In this sense the competitions are a service to the consumers of Italian cuisine.
What can visitors expect to see at the events taking place throughout the summit?
The summit is a huge educational exercise. It’s a moment in which all the stakeholders of the Italian cuisine industry — chefs, restaurateurs, media and Italian food-lovers — have the opportunity of enjoying some exceptional food and learn about traditions, techniques, ingredients and contemporary trends.
After hosting four summits already, how has the response to the show been across the world? Where did you think you had the best summit?
Undoubtedly, the response we had in Hong Kong has been highly positive. There we started, five years ago, something that was never done before. Besides the commercial aspects, we established a “cultural” principle. Italian cuisine has, and will always have, its solid roots in Italy but today it belongs to the world as well. It’s not by chance that in almost every country of the world it is the second best loved cuisine after the national ones.
Do you have any other cities where you’d love to host this event after Dubai?
Our idea is to celebrate the summit twice annually: in Hong Kong during spring and if this edition goes well, in Dubai in autumn. We have other important events in New York, Moscow and other cities … Who knows? Perhaps one day, one of these cities can be part of the summit’s loop.
What are you looking forward to the most from the Dubai edition of the summit?
Dubai is hosting 14 Italian chefs with 25 Michelin stars, all here at the same moment: it has never happened before. There will be also other guest master chefs from all over the world. Our first goal is that Italian food lovers in Dubai can enjoy the cuisine of these masters. Then, of course we expect that authentic and quality food will be to talk of the town for one week at least, and many people can participate to the other events: from the master cooking classes to the huge Italian food show at Bussola on the beach on November 9. The success of the summit will be another success of Dubai, the city of the future, on its way to Expo 2020.