Over 30 top food producers have been selected to showcase the excellence of Italian regional cuisine in the elegant Cervo Conference Center in the heart of Porto Cervo, north east Sardinia.

Tastings are free and the Center is open to the public from 15.00 to 18.30. Expect to enjoy dishes based on such delicacies as truffles, salmon and caviar, to the most typical of Italian food products such as honey, cheese, salami, olive oil and, as we are in Sardinia, bottarga.

The executive chefs of the Starwood hotels in Sardinia: Aldo Cadau (Hotel Cervo), Franco Guardone (Hotel Cala di Volpe), Giovanni Raccagni (Hotel Romazzino) and Manuel Arcadu (Pastry Chef Hotel Cervo), are also transferring their kitchens to the garden of the Conference Center to cook live for guests and reveal the techniques and secrets of their art.

In addition, two special evenings are being set aside.

On Saturday, guests of Hotel Pitrizza can enjoy the creations of maestro chef Igles Corelli, who is proposing a menu created uniquely for the event, while on Sunday at the Ristorante Il Pescatore, it is the turn of Enrico Bartolini, one of Italy’s youngest and most appreciated upcoming talents and already a one star Michelin chef.

Reservations are required and the cost is €70,00 per person with selected wines included.

Look out for the accompanying event Food as Art when Hotel Cervo will be transformed into an art gallery displaying the works of the most noted gastronomic photographers in Italy.

And not forgetting the first Porto Cervo Food Golf Cup which tees off amidst the splendid bays of the Pevero Golf Club near Hotel Cala di Volpe.

Raffaella Manca
PR Manager Starwood Area Costa Smeralda
Tel (Italy): +39 0789 939 408

raffaella.manca@starwoodhotels.com
www.starwoodhotels.com/costasmeralda

As well as receiving this prestigious classification, the Albergo al Sole has also entered the elite club of Small Leading Hotels of the World.

Two landmarks which recognise the continued quality and excellence of the hotel, once a favourite of 1920′s actress Eleonora Duse and more recently John Malkovic & Kim Basinger, as well as Formula One driver Michael Schumacher.

The hotel was fully restored in 1996 and also boasts a fabulous panoramic terrace from where diners of the Terrazza Restaurant can enjoy their meals.

Albergo al Sole has 23 bedrooms 1 mansard suite, 6 double superior rooms with views of the historical center of Asolo, 8 double standard rooms, 2 mansard wedding rooms with French bed and 6 single rooms with French beds.

Additional facilities of the hotel include a technogym and fitness room, private parking, laundry, baby sitting, airport transfer and rental car.

Created by Italy’s Foreign Ministry to reward those who have contributed most to the image and reputation of the country across the world, this year saw sweet giants Ferrero pick up the award.

It’s an amazing story and a classic post war success story which has seen the
company grow from a pastry shop located in sleepy Dogliani to an industrial giant on the edge of Alba.

All thanks to the production of a surrogate chocolate based on the local abundance of hazelnuts when times were hard.

Nutella has caught the imagination and taste buds of most of us, no little thanks to perfect marketing.

The irony of the product from the home of white truffles and Italy’s finest wines has not been lost on Ferrero.

It’s a theme which can be seen throughout the advertising of most of the company’s product range, and deeply Italian.

We even saw a ‘Deliciously Italian’ print ad campaign a few years go for Ferrero Rocher in the US.

As Aldo Grasso, television columnist for the Corriere della Sera, recently pointed out, the ads are not the most sophisticated in the world, but they are perfectly constructed to achieve brand recognition and appeal.

The winning genius of Ferrero is that they still remember where they came from and exactly where they want to go.

www.ferrero.it

The menu in collaboration with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection will be available from September 4 2010 until January 9 2011.

The dishes are inspired by Gottlieb’s colorful work and you should find out more about the man and his life at http://gottliebfoundation.org.

For an antiprima of the menus, view this video, then read on:

ARABESQUE 1968 – The sculpture playfully engages with its repertoire of forms and the surrounding space, which it models starting from its graceful support. Yellow and black dance together at a rhythmical pace.

Fish and vegetable sculptures in lime sauce, oriental seaweed bread Salt cod and ricotta cheese balls with crispy yellow “polenta”, sea scallop in black sesame pastry, seaweed waffle, blanched leek and baby broccoli, maize floured prawn

GREEN HALO 1970- Abstract images balanced without general model constraints lay ground for a highly intuitive and personal perception of color, where harmony and dissonance coexist.

Black cuttlefish risotto with saffron, fresh tomato and buffalo mozzarella on basil sauce

IMAGINARY LANDSCAPE 1969 – An imaginary landscape depicts a mental universe where color stains and a few marks delineate a thought.

Lobster on fennel soup, porcini mushrooms, aromatic tomato compôte and purple potatoes

UNTITLED 1956- Gottlieb’s characteristic use of black and red on white fills this artwork with a crucial tension, masterfully created by contrasting colors and shapes.

Chocolate mousse trio: white chocolate, mild Apurimac dark chocolate, ginger perfumed Sambirano dark chocolate on raspberry compôte

Download a pdf file of the menu here

Lunch: two course menù € 48
Dinner: 4 course menu € 80

Service & taxes included, beverage not included

BOOK YOUR TABLE HERE

The Travel section highlights the Portofino Gourmet Experience tour promoted by us on behalf of long standing client Tasting Tours based in Asti.

We are also happy to note that Delicious Italy is also referenced in the USA Today Travel Tip Guide in sections related to Cooking School Vacations in Italy and Famous Italian Foods – pesto genovese.

From cheese, honey, pork and porcini mushrooms to olive oil, chestnuts, polenta and salami.

Run by Heather Jarman, an archaeologist specializing in the early history of agriculture, 3 places are still available on the small group Italian Countryside Tour from 11-21 October 2010.

Departing from Rome and ending in the Cinque Terre, the highlights and visits include:

- pecorino and ricotta cheesemakers
- Montepulciano and Nobile di Montepulciano wine
- Mount Amiata and the belted Cinta Senese pig
- cooking lesson with seasonal Tuscan produce
- truffle hunt
- optional visit to a health spa
- pick and press olives to bottle your own oil

Download a pdf. brochure of the full itinerary

The 10 day tour finishes just in time for the Slow Food Salone del Gusto in Turin. Transport & accommodation can be arranged to extend your trip.

Anyone interested should get in touch with Heather here or from the contacts below.

ABOUT SAPORI E SAPERI

All Sapori e Saperi adventures are aimed at anyone who cares deeply about the history and origins of regional Italian food and gastronomic tradition and want to meet farmers and producers who are keeping local typical food products alive today.

From one day to seven days they involve hands-on activities such as olive picking, cooking lessons and visits to the homes and workplaces of the small traditional food makers.

Your meals will be in family trattorie, enoteche and Michelin star restaurants, but they will always reflect the seasons and seasonal harvests.

SELECTED SAPORI E SAPERI PACKAGES

Pork & Porcini – September
Olive Oil, Chestnuts & Polenta – November
Cooking lessons and courses – December/January

Sapori e Saperi Adventures Ltd
35 Panton St. Cambridge, UK
Tel (UK): +44 07768 474610
Tel (Italy): +39 339 7636321

info@sapori-e-saperi.com
www.sapori-e-saperi.com

It’s a nifty, interactive tool which proposes wine pairing suggestions before and as you plan special dinners and parties.

Or even after a hard day’s work any time of the week.

Choose your food or wine first and with a click you can view the suggested combination.

Roasted lamb and Aglianico looks good to us for next Easter here in Rome.

You can find out more about Natalie and this useful application for your iPhone, iPod Touch or BlackBerry by following this link.

Or give it a go for yourself via the widget below.

Lessons begin at 9am with a market visit to buy the freshest of ingredients followed by the restaurant’s chef and sommelier taking you through such wonderful classic Sicilian dishes as:

antipasti siciliani
maccheroni
caponata
cannoli
involtini di spatola
calamari
braciola
polpette

The Licchios Restaurant is located off the main street of Taormina, Corso Umberto, and within walking distance of the Greek theater,

Licchios Restaurant
Via T. Patricio 10
Taormina, MESSINA
Tel. +39 0942 625327
www.licchios.it

It really is an unbeatable digital photo delivery platform.

We invested a year or so ago in our own images e-commerce website – deliciousitalyimages.com – as we receive continuous requests from the press and media.

Unfortunately, when even Getty Images has thrown in the towel and has made a deal with Flickr for royalty free and rights managed images, then you have to move on.

Our Flickr space is divided like our main website by region, then themes such as Italian food, dishes etc.

We have over 8000 italy images in house, so keep coming back to the site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/deliciousitaly/

Its called “a table for two” and is for special occasions, wedding proposals, romantic dinners and more.

Above all it is the most romantic table in town.

A single table on the terrace of Restaurant La Cusina, surrounded by the thousand lights of the lagoon.

You can book it for you and your partner directly online.