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ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINAA CULTURAL INSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ITALY

FOUNDED IN 1953 BY ORIO VERGANI

www.accademia1953.it

CIVILTÀDELLATAVOLAACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

INTERNATIONAL

EDITION

CdT_273_COVER_INGLESE_Acca 13/07/15 10:38 Pagina 1

FOCUS2 The Academy is of the Academicians: working together for renewed constancy (Paolo Petroni)

CULTURE AND RESEARCH3 A culinary revolution (Claudio Novelli)

5 The incredible coffee bean (Ruggero Larco)

7 If it’s not true it’s well founded (Gianni Di Giacomo)

9 Culinary systems and traditional local cuisine (Giovanni Ballarini)

On the cover: Graphic reproduction of the paint-ing Still Life with Fruit and a Butterfly by Jan vanHuysum. On exhibition at the Mauritshuis RoyalPicture Gallery.

S O M M A R I O

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

JULY 2015 / N. 273

EDITOR IN CHIEFGIOVANNI BALLARINI

COPY EDITORSILVIA DE LORENZO

LAYOUTSIMONA MONGIU

TRASLATORNICOLA LEA FURLAN

THIS ISSUE INCLUDES ARTICLES BYGiovanni Ballarini,Gianni Di Giacomo,

Ruggero Larco,Claudio Novelli,Paolo Petroni.

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PUBLISHERACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

VIA NAPO TORRIANI 31 - 20124 MILANOTEL. 02 66987018 - FAX 02 66987008

presidente@accademia1953.itsegreteria@accademia1953.itredazione@accademia1953.it

www.accademia1953.it

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MONTHLY MAGAZINEREG. N. 4049 - 29-5-1956

TRIBUNALE DI MILANO

Rivista associataall’Unione StampaPeriodica Italiana

L’ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINAFOUNDED IN 1953 BY ORIO VERGANI

AND LUIGI BERTETT, DINO BUZZATI TRAVERSO,CESARE CHIODI, GIANNINO CITTERIO,

ERNESTO DONÀ DALLE ROSE, MICHELE GUIDO FRANCI,GIANNI MAZZOCCHI BASTONI, ARNOLDO MONDADORI, ATTILIO NAVA, ARTURO ORVIETO, SEVERINO PAGANI,

ALDO PASSANTE, GIANLUIGI PONTI, GIÒ PONTI,DINO VILLANI, EDOARDO VISCONTI DI MODRONE,

WHIT MASSIMO ALBERINI AND VINCENZO BUONASSISI.

CIVILTÀDELLATAVOLAACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

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C A R I A C C A D E M I C I . . .

BY PAOLO PETRONIPresident of the Academy

T he Regular Assembly of Dele-gates, which was held in Flo-rence on May 30, represented

a watershed not only in terms of thedemocratic electoral competition thattook place but also for the various aspi-rations that were expressed during theevent’s many speeches and discussions.In a nutshell: a request for a “renewedconstancy”. The program of my presi-dency, which I intend to pursue withpersistence and precision, includesamong its primary objectives a new wayof interacting with society, both in Italyand abroad. Every single Academyseems to lack visibility as part of itsagenda. They achieve prestige throughyears of hard work and they keep theirdistance from scandals, political andcommercial entanglements, and patron-age. It takes years to build up prestigebut it can be lost in a moment. Our suc-

cessful Presidencies have handed downto us a clean Academy with integrity andfree from any shadows. And while I in-tend to maintain our absolute independ-ence, the voice of our Academy todaymust play a larger and more incisive role.The strength of a presidency lies withits Academicians. To paraphrase a linefrom the inaugural speech of AmericanPresident John F. Kennedy, “Don’t askwhat the Academy can do for you; askwhat you can do for the Academy”. Thatis, ask yourselves what we can do to-gether to insure the success of ourAcademy. The work of the Academi-cians as well as the Delegates is funda-mental. The participation and interestsof all the members of a Delegation mustconstitute the main source of supportfor our solidarity. We do not join merelyfor friendship or to eat a couple of goodmeals, but so that we may bear the in-signia of the Academy: whomever be-comes a member must be aware of be-ing an Academician at all times and assuch must always try to make a personalcontribution. We must never be follow-ers but instead always constitute a motorthat promotes the life and prestige ofthe Academy. Each one of us brings hisor her own attitudes, experiences andprofessionalism. We are living in a timeof excessive media self-promotion by theactors that populate the stage of Italiancuisine. Too much bombast, too muchinfluence by celebrity chefs, too muchtelevision, too much advertising andtoo much exposure have transformedItalian gastronomy into a pure theater.

We need a return to true cuisine, to realingredients and capabilities, patience,honesty and the humility by the manyobscure protagonists of a cuisine thathas fallen into obscurity, almost forgot-ten. If it doesn’t make the news, itdoesn’t exist. If some cooking guru de-cides to put garlic in amatriciana sauce,butter in pesto alla genovese, or dust cof-fee on yellow Milanese risotto the mediago crazy. But if one honest cook redis-covers a fabulous chicken that wasraised as God intended and he or shecooks it the old fashioned way on thegrill under a weight, delicious and crisp,no one talks about it. It is simply notnews. The Academy must help everyone- both the consumers and institutions -understand that we exist not only in or-der to stimulate the great capacity of ourchefs but also to be the faithful custodi-ans of good Italian cuisine. Starting withthis premise, in the next several monthswe will be working on a structural reno-vation of our “Franco Marenghi” StudyCenter. Thanks to the extraordinary com-petence of its new members, it will playa fundamental and pre-eminent role indefining the general outline of the cul-tural activity of the Academy throughinvestigations, analyses and projectsthat have an historic, economic, socio-logical, nutritional, technical and gas-tronomic character.The Academy needs to be at the centerof Italian cuisine on the internationalscene. It must be considered a referencepoint both in terms of culture and in thedevelopment of our traditions.

We must bring Italian cuisine to the forefront of attention; it is too often left in the handsof television celebrity chefs. This is an obligation of all Academicians.

The Academy is of the Academicians:working together

for renewed constancy

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F O C U S

C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C HC U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

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BY CLAUDIO NOVELLIAcademician, Naples-Capri Delegation

As a domestic activity, is cooking today a progressive or reactionary way to spend our time? An interesting question.

A culinary revolution

Some say the origin of the un-stoppable degradation of humanand animal nutrition, both public

and private, and how we obtain ourfood does not matter. Perhaps it is thefault of the moon, the Earth’s core orits rotation; it is a phenomenon of na-ture and therefore unstoppable. Ho-wever it is not an isolated phenome-non, but part of a series of unnecessaryevils perpetrated by humans that fallunder the euphemistic category of“progress”. Many people think, butfew are willing to admit, that progresshas nothing to do with it, but it is in-stead a case of economic convenience.Agro-business has retained nothing ofthe meaning or physical extension ofthe Latin word ager: today it is allabout super-concentrated cultivation,perhaps even multi-strata hydroponics.

Its catchphrase is “if it doesn’t kill youit will nourish you”. Thanks to thewonders of chemistry, some vitaminsand proteins may be added, so whynot throw in a pinch artificial flavorand some glutamate, that amazingsubstance that makes shampoo smelllike a real apricot or green apple? Atthis point why not replace crab, chic-ken, beef and shrimp with some inertvegetable or animal fiber that has beenground, pulverized, freeze-dried, pre-cooked, rehydrated, reconstituted, co-lored and packaged in pleasant zoo-morphic servings?After taking for granted the survivalof our species and its neighbors, thefirst victim of “progress” is clearlytaste. It is not a quick death like theone provided by the guillotine, but anagonizing one. It expires slowly, dissi-

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pating and fading until it finally di-sappears from our memory. Lackingthe original, which day by day is moredifficult to find, comparison becomesdifficult. There may be one or two an-cient people left who complain thatcabbages don’t taste like they used to,that “as a child….” etc. This typicaljeremiad of the elderly, delivered withthe precision of a litany, is always ac-companied by a shrug of the shoulders,a look of complacency, or at best asympathetic smile. This is how we loseour historical memory, including thedescription of how things used to be,not back in the dark ages but maybeonly 30 years ago. They are the sorts of trivialities thatbig business doesn’t concern itselfwith. Instead, in the name of a presu-med equality and distorted view ofcommunity and democracy they saythey will satisfy our hunger. Alas, at ahigh cost to us all. We only have topay up. Not only that, but the timethat we have been saving thanks tothe caring assistance of "Big Sister"can be gladly employed in the "lifelessliving" behind the wheel of an auto-mobile or better still in the contem-plation of television, possibly of "BigBrother". Gorging ourselves, of course,with the frantic and pervasive adver-tising of such products.“More economics, more free market,less government with its shackles”.They don’t want to consider or allowus to reflect on the fact that if a bodyof laws has more or less evolved overtime, there must be a reason. The

public welfare and common interestwere the concepts that used to guidelawmakers. Bourgeois ideals perhaps,but seen through the eyes of an ethicalState: “More freedom and less gover-nment” translates therefore into thefreedom to make things even worsethan they are now. It is free will runamok: mozzarella produced only inCampania with buffala milk? Who arewe kidding? The cheese produced inMelzo and Hannover is just as good,even better - “something exquisite”,as played by a fake Pulcinella in a fakealley in a fake Naples. And what aboutthat infamous cream that is easily spre-ad on any surface, storable at tempe-ratures ranging from 40 to -20 degreesCentigrade and made with a compli-cated chemical formula that a recentEuropean law promoted by the foodindustry allows them to call chocolate!It’s all about economics, they say.When, during the cruel history of hu-mankind, has economics dictated thelaws of politics, religion or simple com-mon sense? But let us return to morecurrent themes: should we deny a li-cense to any restaurant that evensmacks of fast food? To do so wouldbe anti-democratic and would havepernicious consequences for our youth:clandestine McChicken establishmentswould spring up like mushrooms simplyout of a desire to disobey the law. Ket-chup could be counterfeited under thelabel of raspberry toothpaste and the“laughing hamburger” may becomethe secret symbol of an undergroundmovement. What could be worse!!!

So as a serious alternative we mustdiscourage future generations fromfrequenting such establishments andkeep chemicals out of our food. Buthow? First, we must utilize raw mate-rials that have not been processed ormodified, and learn to cook well - verywell. We should let our imaginationsrun wild and embrace the inventionof new dishes and foods as Marinettiand Fillia suggest: foods in which “ex-perience, intelligence and imaginationeconomically replace quantity, banality,repetition and expense”. We shouldrediscover and perhaps revisit dishesand foods that have been reflected byour most genuine traditions that havebeen set aside or forgotten - or madeto be forgotten by the food industry,the new “bogeyman” of the third mil-lennium. Clearly, while raising a chic-ken, grabbing it, wringing its neck,plucking and singeing and evisceratingit may seem like an activity of the an-cient past, we shouldn’t move so faraway from it. All that is needed is agood poultry shop and some inventi-veness and patience in cooking thebird - with its skin still on. So to return to our original question:As a domestic activity, is cooking todaya progressive or reactionary way tospend our time? I have to concludethat it is actually a rather revolutionaryway. Or, to not offend the sanscullottesand Jacobins among us, perhaps Ishould say a silent, innocuous and de-licious and gracious form of civil di-sobedience.

CLAUDIO NOVELLI

C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

THE ACADEMY SILVER PLATELarge, elegant and silver-plated, with the Academy’s logo embossedon the front. This symbolic object is the recommend gift to be pre-sented to those restaurants visited by the Delegations whose atmo-sphere, service, and cuisine are deemed particularly worthy. Forfurther information and orders, Delegates should contact the Se-cretariat in Milan (segretaria@accademia1953.it).

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C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

BY RUGGERO LARCODelegate, Valdarno Fiorentino

The fortuitous journey of coffee, from beverage to social unifyer

The incredible coffee bean

IIn his diary, Pietro Della Valle, tra-veler and 16th century scribe wrote:“The Turks have another dark co-

lored beverage that refreshes you inthe summer and warms you in winter;yet it is the same hot drink. You sip itboiling hot, not with meals but before

or after them and as a diversion whileconversing. There is simply no locationwhere it is not consumed, and every-where you look you find little porcelainbowls filled with the stuff. The stuff iscoffee, a beverage that has also becomea socializing element: an event thatconstitutes a reason to gather together”.And where did this magical bean origi-nate? One legend has it that an Ethiopianshepherd realized that after eating thesmall fruit of a wild plant, his sheepwere awake and alert at night insteadof sleeping. When he returned to thepasture where the sheep had been gra-zing he collected some of those “berries”,roasted them and ate them. He toofound himself wide awake and alert.Returning to historical fact, the truth isthat in the 11th century, the Persianscientist and philosopher Avicenna re-commended the coffee bean as a remedyfor kidney stones, gout, measles, andcoughs (I don’t know about measlesand coughs, but it certainly is not advi-sable for people with kidney stones).Around 1500, coffee became the beve-rage of conviviality, passing throughArabia to Egypt and Syria. From thereit moved on to Turkey and of courseConstantinople, where Della Valle firstwrote about it. It became popular inEurope more or less around the sametime. It arrived in Germany in 1583thanks to the botanist Leonard Rauwolf(1535-1596). It appeared in Italy viaVenice because of that city’s trade rela-tions with the Orient and was popula-rized there in the 16th century. Duringthe first half of the following centurythe first shops where coffee could bepurchased and consumed began to

C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

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open. One rather unflattering testimonywas provided by Francesco Redi, whowrote in his Bacco in Toscana: “I wouldrather drink poison than a cup of thatbitter and evil coffee”. Since he actuallywas a coffee drinker, he said that hewrote those words “as a poet, not a phi-losopher”. During the same period, En-gland was also importing and consumingcoffee, which apparently cost 40 scudiper pound. It was there that the “CoffeeHouse” was born, and although in 1663there were only about 100 of them,that number would top 3,000 just fiftyyears later.The first coffee arrived in Berlin in1670, and in Paris in 1686. Two yearsearlier, in 1684, Franciszek Jerzy Kul-czycki opened the first coffee housein Vienna using the sacks of coffeebeans that the Turkish army had aban-doned when they fled after their siegeof the city. There is another noteworthy legendthat arose from that military circum-stance: the invention of cappuccino, ac-tually our modern caffellatte (half coffee,half milk), is attribute to the FriulianCapuchin monk Marco d’Aviano, whowas present at the final battle. Findingthe taste of the new beverage too strong,he added milk, and the resulting colorresembled that of his cassock. The term

cappuccino has become famous wor-ldwide, but in reality the drink itselfwas only achieved after the inventionof the espresso machine and the milkfrother. And there is more! Again, ac-cording to both history and legend, du-ring the terrible Ottoman siege of theircity the confectioners of Vienna createda half-moon shaped pastry that com-

memorated the symbol on the Turkishflag. Today that sweet pastry is ironicallyknown as a croissant, (cross) and itoften accompanies a cappuccino.According to the philosophers of theEnlightenment, in the 18th century everyEuropean city consumed coffee, andthat led to an increase in its production.Coffee began to be cultivated in theBritish and Dutch colonies thanks tothe Dutch East India Companies. Theyutilized seeds that came from the portof Moka in Yemen. In 1720, Guadalupegovernor Gabriel de Clieu (1686-1774)brought a coffee plant to Martinique.From there the plant spread to SantoDomingo, Jamaica, Cuba and PuertoRico. During the same period, the Dutchbrought coffee to another one of theircolonies, Dutch Guyana (Suriname)from whence it moved through FrenchGuyana to Brazil where in 1727 thefirst coffee plantation was established.Coffee was thus produced internationallyand was exported to all of Europe andthe Americas. And in our collective lan-guage, coffee moved from a mere be-verage to refer to a meeting place andexchange of ideas.

RUGGERO LARCO

E-mail addresses of Italian Academy of Cuisine

President: presidente@accademia1953.it

Secretary General:segretariogenerale@accademia1953.it

National Secretariat: segreteria@accademia1953.it

Editorial office: redazione@accademia1953.it

@

C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

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T he time when we consumefood is a moment of great sym-bolic value insofar as it stands

out as an action that is fundamentalfor the survival of the human species.This is the reason why the human cul-tural world revolves around forms ofbehavior that encompass superstitionand various rituals that make thesitting at the table an occasion full ofsignificance. The superstition thatmore often than not surfaces at thetable is that having thirteen guestsbrings bad luck. It is inevitable thatwhen this happens one of the guests

will point it out while shunting anyresponsibility. The origin of this su-perstition is old indeed and evokesboth religious and historical events. Itgoes back well before Jesus’ last supperto the Norse myth according to whichLoki, the god of evil and destruction,forced himself into the banquet of Val-halla, thus becoming the thirteenthguest. The consequence of this appea-rance was that the magnanimous god Balder, the son of Odin and defenderof men and gods, was killed. The superstition was reinforced by thelast supper that Jesus shared with histwelve disciples. Following that event,both Jesus and Judas Iscariot met theirdeaths. The upshot of such events isthat the thirteenth guest is destinedto die within a year. Some peopleresort to laying the table for fourteenguests and then serving the guestswho happen to be at the table. In En-gland and Scotland, and in the UnitedStates as well, a porcelain cat is posi-tioned on the table with the twofoldpurpose of keeping the jinx at bay andbringing the number of guests up tofourteen. The indirect consequence ofavoiding the thirteenth placement isthat table and silverware are usuallysold in sets of twelve place settings. The utensils are also the subject of va-rious superstitions: if a fork falls fromthe table, it may mean that problemsmight arise with a woman; if a knifefalls, they will happen with a man; ifthe knives should lay on the plate in acrossed position, that could mean thatone may start a quarrel with otherguests at the table. At any rate, twoutensils should not be crossed since

BY GIANNI DI GIACOMOAcademician, Chieti Delegation

“Belief in superstitions is tantamount to ignorance but not believing in them bringsbad luck” (Eduardo De Filippo). The table is no exception.

If it’s not true it’s well founded

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this would be a sign ofthe crucifixion. Wineshould never be pouredwith the back of the handlooking down (an act oftreason) as in the past spe-cial rings containing poi-son would be opened todischarge it thus sealingthe fate of the unfortunateguest.When one is a guest is so-mebody’s home, be carefulnot to fold the napkin atthe end of the meal, unlessyou do not mind not beinginvited again. No gamesare allowed on the table-cloth at dinner: Roman soldiers playeddice for Jesus’ clothes on a tableclothreadied for a meal. Never leave a whitetablecloth on the table all night sinceit would call to mind a funeral shroud.Upsetting the pepper mill will causeyou to clash with your best friend; theapple, fruit of discord, should not beeaten at Christmas. It is a bad omento spill oil, a precious condiment thatshould not be wasted, as a verse onspilled oil reminds us: “Oil: if thereare no misfortunes, there are condo-lences”. There are many superstitions connectedwith salt. They go back to the timeswhen salt was a precious and expensivecommodity. These superstitions reflectstrong contradictions that occur in po-pular traditions and generate a my-sterious aura around a product that iscontinually verging on both the sacredand the profane. “You will add an of-fering of salt to any offer to your god”.This short verse of Leviticus clearlyreveals the symbolic role of salt in re-ligious traditions and just as in thecase of oil it is easy to understand whyspilling it can result in a nefarious ac-tion. At any rate, salt is a product mar-ked by a certain ambiguity: if the di-sciples of Christ are presented as the“salt of life”, it is also true that inancient times victorious kings wouldspread salt over the land of the van-quished populations, to make them

sterile and unproductive. With thepassing of time, salt became a purifyingelement against evil in various reli-gions: from the rite of baptism to therituals performed against witches. Insum, spilling salt is a bad omen and itis particularly bad to spill it at thetable, because there is a credence thatJudas did just that during the last sup-per before he betrayed Jesus. Manypainters, among them Leonardo daVinci in the Last Supper, portray thefigure of Judas kissing Jesus while hiselbow is causing the salt container tofall over on the table. Should salt have already fallen, su-perstition dictates that the ill effectmay be neutralized by tossing a pinchof salt over the left shoulder, the devil’sshoulder, in order to blind the devil.Another strong credence is that ofnever passing the salt keeping fromhand to hand, but to put it down onthe table: the guests will pick it upwith their own hand. Even the cuttingof the wedding cake calls for the per-formance of a spell. In order to makethe wedding ceremony as festive aspossible, the newly wedded couplemust cut the cake together, as accom-plices: they both must hold the knife,the wife with her left hand, leaningon the right hand of her husband.Guests are required to eat the cakebecause refusing it would bring yearsof bad luck and marital problems. Bir-

thday cakes are deco-rated with little can-dles because this en-sures good luck untilthe following birthday.If the candles are blownout in one clean puffthe wish expressed willcome true. Fortunately, there areother superstitions thatbring good luck, justlike spilling wine thatforces each guest todip his or her finger inthe spilt wine to wethis or her nape of theneck and thus become

the recipient of certain fortune. Eating a certain variety of fruit for thefirst time in the season calls for makinga wish that will surely come true. Whatone eats on the last night of the yearis also a matter of importance: firstand foremost, lentils because theybring money; eating twelve black gra-pes is also a good omen. If not grapes,berries of another color of any kind offruit that encapsulates them, such aspomegranates, will do. In the region of Abruzzo, seven typesof soup with seven distinct legumesmust be served to bring wealth. Ano-ther fundamental element of the Ce-none - the great Christmas or NewYear dinner - is dried fruit, symbol ofprosperity: in France, tradition callsfor thirteen different types, in Italyseven are sufficient: walnut, hazelnut,peanut, raisin, almond, fig, and date.Toasting with champagne or sparklingwine is a must, exactly at midnight,with the dutiful loud popping of thecork, because this kind of noise, alon-gside that of firecrackers or similarnoise makers, will chase out the evilspirits. Toasting with water? This neverhappens in Spain, where people believethat it is a bad omen causing, in parti-cular, seven years of problems underthe sheets. In addition, the last drinkof the evening is called “Penultima”,“the next to last”.

GIANNI DI GIACOMO

C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

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C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

L ocal cuisines, which representa widely diffused global realityare finding themselves coming

face to face with gastronomic globali-zation, in which the culinary systemestablished in France has always playeda special role. This system was extremelysuccessful, and influenced the majorityof cuisines, at least in the western world,becoming a new model or paradigmthat overtook and crossed over that ofFrench cuisine and as such must be stu-died and evaluated. Some of the characteristics of he culi-nary system developed in France thatassured the undeniable success of itsgastronomy (and also some of its limits)have recently been highlighted by AlainDucasse and Joël Robuchon. The first characteristic concerns the or-ganization of the culinary team, firstcodified in detail by Auguste Escoffier.Under the command of the chef, eachspecialized component has a specifictask and a well defined role. The secondis the limitless breadth of the techniquesemployed - including ancient, modernand futuristic - not infrequently used incombination. The third characteristicregards the development of a body ofdishes and recipes that have in largepart become classics. These are the fun-damentals of cuisine: the broths, fumets,marinades, sauces, gravies and originalcondiments, many of which are usedworldwide and allow for an infinite va-riety of recipes that are independentfrom the foods with which they arecombined. The last but not least characteristic isthe vast gamut of food products wehave to choose from. They are chosen

for their high quality, regardless of theirplace of origin, be it domestic or foreign,near or far, or whether they are tradi-tional or innovative. These individual and independent cha-racteristics form a system of notableefficiency for a high quality and presti-gious cuisine that is largely applicableto the most diverse cultures and cuisines.It is true that this system does notpossess the simplicity that characterizesand constitutes the strength of the ma-jority of traditional and popular cuisinesthat is the undeniable base of their per-sistent success.In the culinary system outlined above,it is no longer just the chef who cooks,but his or her entire team, accordingto a model that remains - and mustcontinue to remain - uniform with orwithout the presence of the chef thatdeveloped it. These characteristics the culinary systemdeveloped in France follow in the foot-steps of a well known model that wascreated in Italy in the past and used inother arts. In the art studios of the Re-naissance, the maestro conceived andoversaw the work in his studio, or wor-kshop. He invented and chose the te-chniques, selected the materials andimposed his own artistic interpretationon the public. He planned and executedthe most important parts of the work,and left his imprimatur on all the workof his studio, even if the details, andthe numerous copies were carried outby the students. In the art workshopstraditional artisanal practices were tran-sformed into high level works of art,and while traditions were sometimesinterpreted and sometimes surpassed,

BY GIOVANNI BALLARINIHonorary President of the Academy

Developed on the Italian model of Renaissance art schools, it is a way to protect, improve and enhance the value of traditional cuisines.

Culinary systems and traditional local cuisine

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the work was almost always innovativeand creative. Because it is similar to the characteristicsof an “art workshop”, the culinary systemperfected by the French has invadedthe entire world and at the same timehas acquired and absorbed new kno-wledge, techniques and foods fromother cuisines to create a unique expe-rience and culture.Through a technical, but always culturalexchange, the French culinary systemachieved and maintains an undeniablesuccess that allows it to deal with mo-dern day problems and realities of amulti-polar nutritional and culinaryworld that is even invading France itselfand that is present in other countriesincluding Italy and that constitutes agreat challenge to traditional and localcuisines.Cooks all around the world have beenvery successful in interpreting the tra-ditional cuisine of their own territoryand using local products. Such successhas brought some almost unknown localcuisines to the international forefront.For example, initially Baltic cuisine, andsubsequently Brazilian and Central Ame-rican foods. We shall have to see whatothers join them in the future.Clearly regional Italian cuisines are no

strangers to the culinary system descri-bed above and they have exploited it totheir advantage. As an indication oneneed only look at the kitchen organiza-tion and the equipment of the bestItalian restaurants, and at the menusof the most successful ones, especiallytheir “sampling” or “tasting” menus.We must not underestimate the modi-fications that have been made regardingtraditional recipes. Although there haveoccasionally been betrayals worth con-demning, more often we see improve-ments that are basically necessary inorder for those traditions to survive.Every traditional cuisine had to findthat difficult balance between environ-ment, nutrition and economy. In today’sconstantly changing conditions the cu-linary system described above can takeadvantage of new information and te-chnological and economic advance-ments. If wisely applied to our regionaland traditional cuisine, this culinarysystem can in fact allow us to maintainthe values of the past and at the sametime reach the new objectives of humannutrition. In particular, it can help uspromote a healthy, balanced, and variedcuisine that respects traditions andplaces the greatest emphasis on thequality of ingredients. These ingredients

must reflect respect for the environmentand animal health on the part of theproducers, and must be preserved andtransformed in a sustainable way thatis favorable to the health of both theproducers and the consumers.The value of each cuisine does notreside solely in the restaurants in whichthe celebrated masters work, but inmaintaining high quality restaurantstandards under which people not onlylearn about food and how to eat, butalso keep our various traditions alivein a time of multi-polar gastronomicglobalization. The timelessness, highlevel and future of traditional cuisinesare maintained and built every day inevery town and city of a region, inevery cuisine whose principal objectiveis the quality of research and work ofthe restaurateurs who promote a non-industrial cuisine that is not a slave topassing fads and trends.Rather than an obstacle, the great di-versity of nutritional traditions of Italiancuisine and gastronomy can becomean element of success if interpreted ina modern culinary system that has thequality of ingredients as its main priority.All without falling into the trap of fastand easy marketing!

GIOVANNI BALLARINI

C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

2015 ECUMENICAL DINNERThe convivial ecumenical meeting that brings together all the Academicians in Italy and around the

world at the virtual table, will take place on October 15 at 8:30 pm. This year’s themewill be Condiments: Sauces and Gravies that characterize regional cuisine. This topic,chosen by the “Franco Marenghi” Study Center and approved by the President’sCouncil, is aimed at recapturing, through cuisine, traditions that are undergoing

great changes today owing to our passage from home and family cooking to ar-tisanal and finally industrial foods. And if at one time the use of condimentswas determined by neighboring cultures, today the field is a global one and

is in a state of constant and rapid change. Delegates are entrusted with ensuringthat the ecumenical dinner is accompanied by an appropriate presentation of a cultural

character that illustrates this important theme and that the dishes served are relevant to the topic.