Only Truly Italian

‘Made in Italy’ is the third-best-known brand in the world after Coca-Cola and Visa. No wonder producers from other countries like to bask in that fame with fake-Italian products. Led by Hilton director and chairman Roberto Payer, the Italian Chamber of Commerce is fighting back.

Italians are proud of their cuisine. So proud that they protect all vero Italiano products, from burrata to Parma ham, under European law. And that is necessary, because many non-Italian producers use Italian-sounding names or labels for their jars of tomato sauce and hams. As a result, Italian producers lose around €60 billion every year.

Look-alikes

Roberto Payer calls this fake Italian. Nicoletta Brondi of the Italian Chamber of Commerce prefers the term ‘look-alikes’. They see it as their task to help consumers recognize and avoid fake products. Because Italian food did not come into being in a day, a week or a year, but over centuries, and therefore deserves better. Just like the consumer.

To take the wind out of the sails of ‘Parma ham’ from Hungary and ‘Parmesan cheese’ from Greece , the joint Italian chambers of commerce (80 worldwide) are organizing various activities in 2018 to create greater awareness of authentic Italian cuisine among consumers, influencers, buyers and chefs. They are doing so under the title ‘The Extraordinary Italian Taste’, in proper Italian style. The launch took place in Roberto’s kitchen, featuring, among other things, an unforgettable cacio e pepe pasta by guest chef Antonella Brunella, who comes from the Italian region of Abruzzo.

Fake Italian versus Vero Italiano

Clear: fake is wrong. But a dish like cacio e pepe exists precisely thanks to non-Italian influences. Made with pasta (its exact origin—Chinese or Moorish—is still debated), pecorino romano (sheep’s cheese from Rome) and black peppercorns roasted in a frying pan. Without that black pepper (pepe), there is no cacio e pepe. And it reached Italy via the Arabs.

But admittedly, the Italians have elevated these three ingredients into this magical dish. And it is thanks to typically Italian ambition and fussiness about the real Italian ingredients to use, as well as the precise preparation method, that something so simple can be so bizarrely delicious. Leave that to the real Italians.

You can find more information about the activities planned for the coming year, such as a gastronomic fair, here.

And make Antonella’s cacio e pepe with this recipe.

Image: Marjan Ippel