The annual meeting of Euro-Toques Italia, which took place in May in the evocative setting of Borgo Egnazia in Puglia, was an opportunity to talk about cuisine and tourism and to present the new official guide of the association chaired by Enrico Derflingher and which also sees the chef of the Italian Palate Filippo Sinisgalli on the board of directors.
Two hundred and eleven chefs are present in the new edition which includes all three-starred chefs. 62 new presences including 8 cooks who make their entry for the first time, bringing the total number of "women's shares" to 15. The new version is now in two languages including English, thus reaffirming the European character of the association and how much - increasingly - its gaze is aimed at an international audience.
The cut of the publication is interesting and – as Alberto Lupini, director of Italia a Tavola, curator of the guide points out – it is not a promotional catalog nor are there any hierarchies of restaurants, rather professional cooks of quality cuisine are presented. The important objective is increasingly to try to set up a national team work and to strengthen Italian cuisine on every occasion, focusing on quality and respect for the rules, characteristics that guarantee customers above all.
Gualtiero Marchesi, honorary president of Euro-Toques, also says: "This guide is a good example of a united Europe, united in competence and friendship where diversity is manifested and transformed into a common drive towards quality, sensitivity, the inspiration. Those who cook with love promote health and culture, making themselves available to others, colleagues and customers. As I always repeat, we go looking for the good in the beautiful and vice versa, because pure beauty is the real good. Leafing through the guide, you will meet 211 chefs, with and without stars, as they carry out their daily research work, at the market, in the selection of fresh products, refining the various techniques. The code we have given ourselves has two fundamental objectives: the sharing of knowledge and mutual respect. It is only through comparison that we grow from every point of view”.
The association, with a process that began in 1986, has the important objective of connecting the different European culinary traditions and therefore the cooks, who are witnesses and interpreters in a continuous evolution. The exchange of their experiences is precious, it keeps the cultural value of the kitchen high and constantly increases its technical level.
The recent Apulian occasion also hosted an interesting round table entitled: Cooks, driving force of tourism. In fact, the kitchen is a crucial protagonist for the entire sector which, in turn, is so important for the Italian economy.
