Post Event: Italian Olive Oil Masterclass - April 30th, 2021, Chongqing

Dear Members and Friends,

The China-Italy Chamber of Commerce (CICC) is pleased to announce that the “Italian Olive Oil Masterclass” was held in Chongqing at Citadines Gaoke Liangjiang on Friday, April 30th.

The “Italian Olive Oil Masterclass” is organized within the framework of the project "True Italian Taste", promoted and financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and carried out by Assocamerestero in collaboration with the Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad. "True Italian Taste" aims to enhance and safeguard the authentic Italian food products.

The event was attended by F&B experts, media, journalists, Key Opinion Leaders, bloggers and Italian food buyers. The purpose of the masterclass was to improve Chinese consumers' awareness of authentic Italian olive oil and increase the visibility of Italian companies in the F&B sector in China.

The event started with opening speeches by Davide Castellani, Deputy Consul General of Italy in Chongqing, and Paolo Bazzoni, CICC Chairman. The Deputy Consul referred to the Italian sounding phenomenon that affects "Made in Italy" products in the Chinese market and underlined the importance of identifying the authenticity of the origin of the products. On the other hand, the Chairman of the CCIC recalled that Italy ranks first in Europe for quality agri-food products, and expressed the hope that more and more constructive exchanges in the F&B sector could take place between China and Italy.

After these speeches, Ms. Zhao Lingling, Chongqing Office Coordinator of CICC, showed a video about Italian cuisine, from which participants were able to learn three classic Italian recipes prepared with simple ingredients and Italian olive oil. The video inspired participants to try to prepare Italian dishes by themselves.

Then started the seminar and the cooking class. The theme was Olive Oil in "Dieta Mediterranea". The first Master was CICC board member Mr. Gianluca Luisi, President of Chongqing Dezhuang International Trading Co. Ltd and Secretary General of World Chilli Alliance. During his speech he introduced how to combine olive oil with Chinese cuisine. The second Master was Chef. Franco Bergamino, General Manager of Chongqing Boruite Catering Management Co. Ltd, which shared his knowledge of extra-virgin olive oil and described the effects of olive oil on health, how to choose olive oil and the differences between olive oils according to different producing areas, so that everyone could get more professional and accurate understanding of olive oil. In the last part of the class, Chef. Franco Bergamino prepared several Italian dishes, allowing all the participants to taste and actually experience how to identify pure olive oil.

The Masterclass ended with a networking activity that was attended by all the participants. CICC thanks all the participants from F&B Industry, KOLs and Influencers, media and journalists, who attended and supported the event.

We look forward to seeing you soon at other True Italian Taste events.

To see the photos of the event, please scan the QR code below:

Kind Regards

CICC Team