The 36th edition of Anuga, the world’s leading trade fair for food and beverages, was held in Cologne from 9 to 13 October. Despite the Covid, the 2021 edition recorded over 70,000 visitors from over 169 countries worldwide, a perfect stage for the 100per100 Italian Academy, the international project of I Love Italian Food to offer free education to Made in Italy professionals abroad.
Three Academy appointments were held at the stand of AFIDOP, Associazione Formaggi Italiani DOP, in collaboration with the Consorzi di Tutela delle DOP Asiago, Gorgonzola, Grana Padano, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana and Taleggio.
Three appointments that deepened knowledge and uses of the five Italian PDO cheeses both with the public of international operators visiting Anuga and with the public of enthusiasts connected in streaming on the Facebook channels of I Love Italian Food.
The first class was dedicated to the use of cheeses in cooking, led by Chef Domenico Gentile, of Italian origin and author of the best-selling Italian cookbook in Germany. Chef Gentile talked about the five PDO cheeses and shared his culinary suggestions with the public with original recipes featuring PDO cheeses: torta salata with speck, apples and Asiago PDO fresco; gnocchetti with Gorgonzola PDO dolce, radicchio and walnuts; risotto with Grana Padano PDO in three consistencies; Roman salad with black chickpeas, Treviso radicchio and Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO and baked pumpkin with Taleggio PDO cream.
For operators at the fair, the event was an opportunity both to watch Chef Domenico Gentile’s show cooking and to learn about and taste the PDO cheeses presented in the class.
The second Academy event focused on the pairing of wines and cheeses, with the participation of Claudia Stern, sommelier, journalist for VINUM magazine, owner of the Wine&Glory wine shop in Cologne and winner of several awards in the sector.
Each PDO cheese was skilfully paired with an Italian wine, with the opportunity for guests on the stand to taste the products under the guidance and guidance of sommelier Claudia Stern. The pairing studied for Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP is designed for an aperitif moment, with a Prosecco col Fondo, a dry wine that creates an unexpected marriage between the two products. A classic and unforgettable pairing is proposed by Stern for Taleggio DOP, with a Barbera d’Alba that links the cheese to one of its production areas, Piedmont. For the Gorgonzola Piccante DOP, less known in Germany than the Gorgonzola Dolce, Claudia Stern selected an Etna Bianco Santa Spirito, a dry, delicate, fruity wine, perfect for enhancing the flavour of the spicy Gorgonzola. Then it was the turn of the Asiago PDO stagionato vecchio, tasted together with a Sauvignon Blanc Ronco del Cerò, a wine from Friuli whose aromas and flavours enhance the taste of the cheese. To close, the perfect combination of Grana Padano PDO 18 months with a red wine from Lazio, Diana Nemorensis.
Stefania Lettini was the performer of the last class dedicated to the five PDO cheeses at Anuga. Italian food expert, TV host of German national television, owner of a shop selling made in Italy products in Düsseldorf, Stefania Lettini gave an engaging presentation of the five PDOs, with a storytelling focused on the history, origin, production and characteristics of Asiago, Gorgonzola, Grana Padano, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana and Taleggio. A guided sensory tasting was also offered for each cheese, to discover and analyse the characteristics of each of the Italian PDO products.
Three successful appointments for the Academy, which enchanted the public at the fair and the more than half a million Italian food lovers connected from all over the world who followed the classes via streaming.
You can watch again the three events below:
