The Embassy of Italy in India wrapped up the 5th Edition of the World Week of Italian Cuisine on Saturday 27th November 2020. The week that kick started on 23rd November brought many fans of Italian food together. India is no stranger to Italian food, the ever-bourgeoning number of Italian restaurants in the country is proof.
(Also Read: 5th Edition Of World Week Of Italian Cuisine Kicks Off, And Here’s What’s In Store For You!)
Due to the pandemic scare, the fifth edition was a tad low-key affair compared to previous editions. Keeping the safety norms in mind, the Embassy held a home cooking challenge and sent a kit containing authentic Italian ingredients along with the recipe of the dish ‘Spaghetti al Pomodoro’ to selected people from Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.
The Ambassador if Italy in India, H.E. Vincenzo De Luca
As part of the contest the participants had to prepare the classic Italian dish, and send three separate videos as their entries. In the first video they had to share their introduction and their thoughts on Italian food and WWIC, the second video had to demonstrate the cooking process and the final video had to show the table setting and presentation. Five shortlisted contestants were then invited to the Embassy of Italy, New Delhi to showcase their skills at the Grand Finale cook-off, the winner among the five would win a free ergogastronomic trip to Italy.
Contestants presented their dishes in front of an esteemed panel of judges
5 shortlisted home cooks were Reena Singh, Divya Mishra, Karan Tripathi, Poorna Banerjee, Mitul Sharma. All the home chefs battled it out at live cook stations. The high-voltage contest was kicked off by Alessandro De Masi, First Counsellor and Isabella Periotto, First Secretary, who – together with Chef Riccardo Fanucci of Gambero Rosso (joining live from Rome), were also the judges of the final cook off.
Divya Mishra, Karan Tripathi and Reena Singh made the best “Sugo al Pomodoro” and were qualified to prepare the final dish “Spaghetti al Pomodoro. Karan Tripathi from Delhi, was adjudged as the winner of the contest at the ‘Non-Gala Dinner’.
Promoted
The Ambassador if Italy in India, H.E. Vincenzo De Luca opened the event by thanking all the partners. In his speech, he also recalled how the World Week of Italian Cuisine originated from EXPO Milan 2015 and has been such a memorable event ever since. The entire event was covered by NDTV Food.