TASTE OF CALABRIA

The Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario (ICCO) and Regione Calabria – Dipartimento Presidenza – Settore Internazionalizzazione, with the support of Unioncamere Calabria, are proud to announce “Promotion of Regione Calabria’s agri-food products and its excellencies in Canada”, a project who’s aim it is to present trade opportunities for the Calabrian food and wine sector in the Canadian market.

The project’s objective is to present the food and wine excellencies that are typical of Calabria and its territory to the Canadian market. The main events of this project are:

These activities will include targeted and well thought out initiatives whose objective is to promote the excellencies of the food and wine products of Calabria in Canada and to help place these products on the shelves of grocery stores in Ontario and of the GTA. The initiatives will include the selection of products, presentation, organization of b2b meetings, tasting events, participation of key industry people, the involvement of media, social media and food bloggers, who will help to spread the word about the new products that will be available on the shelves.

VISITING GUESTS FROM ITALY

Chef Antonio Abbruzzino
Ristorante Abbruzzino

Antonio Abbruzzino grew up in Andali, a small village in the heart of the Calabrian capital of Catanzaro. At a young age he enrolled in a local hospitality institute and began cooking at restaurants in the seaside region, later expanding his travel horizons to the rest of Italy and abroad. Mentally archiving tastes, scents and native recipe secrets everywhere he went, Antonio was greatly influenced by the cultures, techniques and traditions of the countries he visited. Following his culinary exploration of Europe, Asia, and the Americas, he returned home with his wife Rosetta, to blend the experience he garnered with the products of his homeland.

At his eponymous restaurant in Calabria, Antonio has established a reputation for complete devotion to his craft, taking great care to source the freshest fish, vegetables and meat available for his instinctive Mediterranean dishes. His philosophy of humble hard work and reverence for the transformation of local ingredients into culturally reflective cuisine were key in earning Abbruzzino a Michelin star in 2013. Additionally, his son and partner in the kitchen, Luca, is a constant source of inspiration, creativity and encouragement. With his wife and daughter heading up the front of house and wine selection, Antonio has cultivated a life where loved ones and life-long passion for cuisine integrate seamlessly.

Though the choice to leave Calabria was not an easy one, Antonio senses a familiarity in California — a region rich in fresh fish, vegetables, and olive oil. At Il Dandy , Antonio envisions a kitchen that represents his family’s origins and cuisine that will captivate the growing gastronomic community of San Diego.

Chef Pino Barbino
Ristorante La Tenuta dei Frati

Pino Barbino was born in Castrovillari (Cosenza) and graduated with a degree in Agricultural Science at the Univeristy of Bologna in 1981. Already in 1978 he founded and managed a family business in the tourism/hotel sector. Through his great relationships with renowned chefs he was able to work in commercial and collective catering as well as banquets. Today he is head Chef at La Tenuta dei Frati, located in an exclusive area in the countryside of the Castrovillari area.

His initial passion for the culinary arts ended up becoming his profession throughout his 40 year career in the business. Because of his expertise in the field Chef Pino also served as a board member in the FIC Promotion, a single-person company of the Federazione Italiana Cuochi. At this moment he is the president of the Cuochi consentini association and board member of the Unione Regionale Cuochi Calabria.

Chef Giovanni De Luca

Chef Giovanni De Luca was born in Fuscaldo, in the Province of Cosenza, Calabria and he attended the Culinary School in Paola, hometown of Saint Francesco. He has been working as a Chef for over 30 years. Over the years he has traveled and experienced a lot, getting in touch with lots of different food cultures. One of his many trips brought him to the United States and he took the opportunity to bring his traditional cuisine with him, a cuisine that is made of traditions and quality products.

When he returned to Calabria, after spending many years around Italy, he began to manage hotels and resort kitchens with an elevated number of guests. He is also the proud owner of a high quality fast food brand, where you can eat typical local products.

His motto is: Work hard, with passion and concentration, and the rest is up to the quality products!

The ethnic-folk band “Cerseyo” (from the old Greek “inhabitant – living being of the earth) comes from Torre di Ruggiero (province of Catanzaro) and has 9 members: Nicola Platì, Francesco Renda, Cosimo Renda, Eleonora Pelagi, Enza Garito Mario Garito Alessandro Paone, Stefano Audino e Pino Rotiroti.

The band was established six years ago in the summer of 2013. Francesco Renda, Mario Garito, Roberto Alongi, Marianna Pacicca and Nicola Plati, who have always been lovers of the ethnic – folk music, decided to take the next step and to create a band to share their traditions and costumes, the beauty of their land and the strength of their roots through their songs.

Even though the band has only existed for 6 years, they have already received prestigious recognitions and achieved numerous successes in the ethnic music field.

The band is currently working on a special project on violence against women, and one of their songs of this project helped them reach the National semifinals of Sanremo last year.

(© Creators at Play)