Italian Cooking Masterclass - 2nd Edition

The Italian Trade Agency, within the framework of the activities to promote the Italian food and beverage sector in Lebanon, is organizing the 2^nd Edition of the Italian Cooking Masterclass, in collaboration with Alma (Scuola Internazione di Cucina Italiana) and USJ (Université Saint Joseph) - IGE (Institut de Gestion des Entreprises). Carlo Maria Ricci, chef and gastronomist of Alma will be conducting the Masterclass.

The Masterclass is intended to Lebanese professional chefs that want to expand their knowledge on Italian Cuisine. The program will focus on recipes of the Italian culinary tradition with a modern interpretation. The aim of the Masterclass is also to promote the authenticity of the Italian cuisine with the use of Made in Italy products. Made in Italy is a guarantee of quality and safety for the restaurant owners and the consumers.

The Masterclass is structures on two-day training (29-30 January) with the presentation of 16 new recipes. Due to the high response, an extra session on Monday 28 has been set. The participant professional chefs are mostly working in the kitchen of Italian restaurants in Lebanon and some chefs are working in Lebanese restaurants. Chef Ricci will focus on techniques

The fourth day, Thursday 31^st, is dedicated to the students of USJ-IGE and to the amateur. A masterclass for amateur will take place at 6pm at KitchenLab. The Masterclass went fully booked within hours from the launch of the event on ITA Beirut facebook page.

On Thursday 31st another special class will be organized, and it will be reserved to the students of the Faculty of Culinary Arts of the IGE-USJ.

In the horeca sector, Italian restaurants and restaurants of International cuisine are the privileged channel of distribution for the Italian food and beverage products.

Italy is the first European supply country of Lebanon for food and beverage with an 11% of market share and a value of 58 mln US$. In the first 10 months of 2018 Italian exports of food and beverages reached the value of 47 mln US$. The most appreciated products are chocolate, pasta and rice, wine, cold cuts and tomato sauce.

ITA Beirut will continue the promotion of the Italian food and beverage sector in Lebanon with a series of activities that will include the organization of the Italian wine and beverages workshop that will be held on February 28^th. This year edition will also include the promotion of Italian cheeses and cold cuts with wine and beverages pairings. There will be an Italian sommelier coming to Lebanon for the occasion that will conduct guided wine tasting for audiences of professional and amateurs.

ITA Beirut along with the Italian Embassy will participate to the next edition of HORECA with an Institutional stand and coordinating the organization of an Italian Pavilion.

The activity will continue also with a communication campaign to raise awareness on Lebanese consumers on the quality of Made in Italy products.