- 8th edition of WWIC promotes Italian food, wine tradition of Italy
- 3 featured chefs from Italy plus special menus and dishes for food festival
- Celebration of Italian food at 3 five-star hotels, 4 Italian restaurants
6th November 2023 Colombo Sri Lanka: ‘At the table with Italian cuisine: well-being with taste’ is
the theme at the 8th edition of the Worldwide Week of Italian Cuisine (WWIC) being held across
three five-star hotels and four Italian restaurants in Colombo.
From the 13th to the 19th of November, award winning chefs from Italy will be sharing their artistry in the kitchen with chefs at The London Grill Cinnamon Grand Colombo, 1864 at Galle Face Hotel & Ports of Call at the Taj Samudra. Chef Lorenzo Alessio, Chef Maria Nasso and Chef Leonardo Ricci will be in Sri
Lanka during the week-long festival, while four restaurants – Lago, Aquaforte, Dolce Italia and Il
Mare will also weigh-in with their gastronomic fare.
Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka & the Maldives HE Damiano Francovigh
With the legacy of Italian cuisine reverting way back into the era the Romans, with the world’s
first ever recipe book De Re Coquinaria written by Apicius in the first century AD, Italy etched
itself as a harbinger of change on the global cuisine map. The festival therefore will combine
the multiple flavours of Italian cuisine built on that strong bond of the Mediterranean diet
coupled with the tradition of the age-old craft of wine. Colombo will be savouring the goodness
of fresh agricultural produce as well, the quintessential mainstay of Italian fare.
Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka & the Maldives Damiano Francovigh says, “During the previous
seven editions, 300 diplomatic and consular offices in more than 100 countries held over 9.500
events, making the WWIC one of the most successful initiatives to support Italian culture and
lifestyle in the world. This year, our aim is to have the greatest number of Sri Lankans enjoy
authentic Italian cuisine, firsthand.”
The Ambassador adds that not only has the Embassy collaborated with some of the finest
hotels and restaurants in the city with special menus developed by Italian chefs, “But these
chefs will also be conducting training programmes with the Vocational Training Authority of Sri
Lanka. We believe it is important to focus on training and developing Sri Lankan chefs for the
future, especially in a country where tourism has so much potential.”
The WWIC is based on few key points: creating awareness on Italian food and wines and the
territories they come from, promoting the Mediterranean diet, highlighting the importance of
geographical indications and taking the Italian expertise in hospitality to the world via training.
Adding some words of confidence, the Ambassador said, “In Sri Lanka, it is very possible to
prepare excellent Italian dishes right throughout the year, using Italian recipes and combining
Italian products with fresh local ingredients. This is a lasting legacy that will continue even after
WWIC because in Sri Lanka, we can produce amazing Italian dishes, every single day.”
Chef Leonardo Ricci
A maestro in Italian gastronomy, he is a Member of the Chaine du Rotisseur Bailage of Venice
and a decorated wine connoisseur having studied Wine Tasting for Oenologists at Bordeaux
University. He is currently the President of the President of the Scientific Comitee of the
“Fondaco del Gusto” Foundation and a former President of the Accademia Spiedo Altamarca.
(Altamarca Trevisana Spit Academy). He has been a Member of the Board of the Prosecco
Superiore and Consortium Consultative Permanent Comity at the European Commission for
Chicken and Eggs Laws.
One of his specialties is Altamarca – the quintessential regional Italian BBQ and he is currently
the Owner and Gastronomy Advisor of Leoricci Agroalimentare SRL Food Trader and Spit Event
Organizer. He has also been an Advisor to the Italian Ice Cream Academy, Italian National
Pastry team and Uniteis German Ice Cream Makers Association among others.
Chef Maria Nasso
An award-winning chef who has won medals at the Extracuoca 2022 edition and the Collegium
Cocorum award by the Federazione Italiana Cuochi, her experience spans working in
restaurants like L’Oca, Terre dei principi, Song Festivals – the 72 nd Festival di Sanremo and
Fruit24, a tour promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. She is a teacher and corporate
trainer for the Chamber of Commerce of Latina and began a collaboration with Prime Food
Consulting, a restaurant consulting company. Her specialty is in Visual Food & Plating which she
teaches at various institutes.
She is a qualified in Enogastronomy, Luxury Event Manager, sports second-level nutrition by the
Italian National Olympic Committee and Masterchef Food & Wine Trainers among a host of
others which give her an holistic view of cuisine in numerous genres. She has studied at the
University of Rome La Sapienza and is also a Red Cross Volunteer working in the emergency
catering sector.
Chef Lorenzo Alissio
His expertise has called upon him to be a judge, head of jury, coach as well as a competitor in
multiple competitions organized by the Italian Federation of Chefs. A gold and silver medalist at
the Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup, Olympiade der koche and International Culinary
Exhibitions, he is the Technical Manager of the Italian Cuisine Championships and has also won
awards at the S. Pellegrino Young Chef Academy, one of the ten strongest teams in the world
from 70 nations at Bocuse d’Or World Final and the World Finals at the European Global Pastry
Chef Challenger among others.
For more information:
Savithri Rodrigo +9 777 801886 or savi@srodrigo.com
