There is only one event in the world these days that can aspire to steal some attention from the great food event that is celebrated with theExpo in Milan and it's “Party in Vico”, the ceremony of Italian culinary excellence which sees 7 Italian chefs, the absolute excellence of our gastronomy, gathered from 9 to 350 June in a small village on the Sorrento coast.
The protagonists of Made in Italy: cuisine, celebrated as real stars on TV, in the press and in blogs from all over the world – and not by chance, given that Italy is the second country in the world for starred chefs – will perform at Vico Equense in three days of haute cuisine conceived thirteen years ago by Gennarino Esposito, Italian icon of haute cuisine of the "Torre del Saracino" and "Mammà" in Capri, as a rediscovery of the sensory, cultural, social and humanitarian values of Italian cuisine and its territory. This year, with the Expo, Festa a Vico has literally exploded in numbers and in the value of its proposal.
Starting with an exclusive - and unrepeatable - dinner where twenty of the greatest Italian chefs, all strictly starred, coming from every latitude of the peninsula from places where the waiting list is sometimes measured in the order of weeks, will cook their unattainable specialty at a great charity evening. And more than words, it is worth mentioning the names (the official list has not yet been disclosed) of some of the protagonists of this memorable evening that will be held in the Giusso Castle: starting with Massimo Bottura, of the Osteria Francescana in Modena, third restaurant in the world in the list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2014, to follow with Niko Romito of Castel di Sangro, new entry in the three Michelin stars, Chicco Cerea of the restaurant Da Vittorio in Busaporto, again 3 stars, and with the double-starred Andrea Berton, Antonino Cannavacciuolo, of the Hotel Villa Crespi in Orta San Giulio, TV star of Masterchef, Pino Cuttaia, of La Madia di Licata, high priest of the return to the kitchen of memory, Davide Scabin , Mauro Uliassi, Francesco Bracali, Antonio Guida, Giancarlo Perbellini, Valeria Piccini, Nino Di Costanzo of Il Mosaico di Ischia and finally the starred Pier Giorgio Parini, Salvatore Tassa, as well as, of course, Gennaro Esposito.
If this is the most exclusive appointment to which no more than 200 lucky people who will be able to reserve a place via the internet can access, Festa a Vico, in homage to its name, reserves two other unique appointments for their originality. Sunday June 7th the whole city of Vico Equense will be transformed into a high-level gastronomic location and will be literally invaded by culinary stations. Streets, squares, corners of Vico and above all shops of all kinds, not just gastronomic ones, from goldsmiths to leather shops, from fabric shops to technical items shops, will host a young Chef – there will be more than 130 – for what has been called “The Repubblica del Cibo”, an acknowledgment of cooking as a feast for all and as a reminder of its popular origins and therefore strongly rooted in the fabric of the city. In the end Tuesday June 9, grand finale with the Party in Marina d'Equa of Seiano and in the Le Axidie Tourist Complex, where 100 starred chefs, 10 pizza makers and great interpreters of street food all rub shoulders in a long gastronomic journey that will wind along the seafront of a of the most evocative seaside villages in Italy give an appointment to the people of foodies with their dishes.
Also in this case, Italian food and wine will be produced in one big charity event. The proceeds from the evening will be used to finance the activities of the association for the fight against breast cancer, just as with the past editions of Festa a Vico over 300.000 euros were raised for the purchase of equipment for the Santobono pediatric hospital in Naples.
“If it is true that Italy is not only EXPO, also Festa a Vico, with its excellence, its spirit, fundraising and the pursuit of quality, it is EXPO: it is the Expo of Feeding the Planet, of Energy for Life - says Gennarino Esposito - and realities like ours have always told the best that we show and offer to the world: with the warmth of the people, the passion, the cuisine and the exclusivity of our territories. We are guided by that uniquely Italian spirit that knows how to make the world fall in love with our province!”.
In this regard, it is worth remembering that a study carried out by the Alma Graduate School of the University of Bologna, one of the most important management schools at European level, identified several fixed points on which it is necessary to think: "Italian food and wine is experiencing a of unprecedented success; exports from the agro-industrial sector continue to grow, despite the economic crisis; Italian products benefit from the so-called “country of origin effect”, that is, they are automatically associated with the positive values of the Italian brand (high quality, heritage and lifestyle); in addition to the "traditional" markets, the BRICS are also becoming major customers of Italian products (China and Russia in primis); Italian catering in the world enjoys the same effect, in fact among the new restaurants that are opened in large cities, one out of three is an "Italian" restaurant.
And again the export of food products "Made in Italy" continues to grow, but represents only 35% of the market for “Italian Sounding” products; most of the "Italian" restaurants abroad offer products that do not correspond to the Italian gastronomic identity, both because they represent the result of the cultural contamination between Italian emigrants and local traditions, and because "Made in Italy" is closely linked to the and to some stereotypes”.
For the prof. Max Bergami who three years ago as Economic Advisor to the Minister for Regional Affairs, Tourism and Sport coordinated the first Strategic Plan for the Development of Tourism in Italy "we must all convince ourselves, and at different levels of responsibility, that the kitchen offers great opportunities for the development of the export of Italian products, with the aim of conquering a greater market share at the expense of the "Italian Sounding" which, it has been calculated, takes away 300.000 jobs from the Italian agro-industrial sector. From this point of view, "Festa a Vico" is not only a gastronomic showcase but above all a school of gastronomic culture that wants to spread throughout the world, from the South that gave rise to the Mediterranean Diet, Unesco's intangible heritage, the invitation to consider food not only an element of pleasure but also a growth factor linked to the history and present of the territory and its peasant, artisan and entrepreneurial values.
