Extraordinary Italian Taste Initiative
Italy-America Chamber of Commerce, Southeast
I worked as an event facilitator, judge and spokesperson on a series of events that were part of a global initiative called The True Italian Taste, which was funded by Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by Assocamerestero in collaboration with the network of the Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad. I worked on the events that took place in Miami for the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce, Southeast, which was responsible for implementing the projects that took place in the Southeast United States.
The goal of the initiative was to educate US consumers to identify the main certified Italian food and beverage products in supermarket, when shopping online or at the restaurant. Everyone involved — from restauranteurs and chefs to wine makers and distributors, food manufacturers, and every possible entity you can think of in the world of Italian hospitality — joined together to combat a significant problem facing the Italian economy: fraudulant or “Italian-sounding” products.
As an event facilitator, I was asked to introduce speakers and panelists to guests and this involved explaining the designations that exist in Italy to protect and assure the quality of various food and beverage products, such as the DOP designation.
These are links to the events I worked at. Click on the title to go to a page with more info, photos and video.
Masterclass at the Miami Culinary Institute | September 19, 2016
Audience and presenters included chefs, restaurateurs, importers/distributors, journalists/bloggers, influencers and nutritionists, and focused on knowledge of the main Italian DOP and IGP products. During the Masterclasses, authentic Italian dishes were prepared with DOP and IGP ingredients.
Italian Food & Wine Culinary Tour | April 25-26 and May 2-3, 2017
Each night, I guided participants through tours and tastings at four of the most authentic Italian restaurants in Miami.
Extraordinary Italian Taste Pizzaioli Competition | November 15, 2017
This outstanding event took place at the beautiful Palm 93 Villa, which also happens to be the former home of Al Capone. The finest Italian pizza makers in Miami joined together to compete to be named the best of the best. I was among the judges for this event. Needless to say the pizza was outstanding – best I’d ever had!
Masterclass at Miami Culinary Institute | April 24, 2018
Just like the one above, this event brought together chefs, restaurateurs, purveyors of authentic Italian food and wine and journalists and influencers.
The Authentic Italian Table | April 25, 2018
Miami’s first high-end Italian food & wine festival that united over 40 Italian restaurants and gourmet Italian food and wine producers, as well as importers for a night of displays, tastings and presentations. I acted as a facilitator for the presentations.
Food Design Night | May 15, 2019
This event was done in tandem with the IACCSE’s annual event for the Miami Design community, Extraordinary Italian Design. Top chefs from some of Miami’s finest authentic Italian restaurants competed to be named the best in class for not just their abilty to created dishes that tasted amazing, but also their flair for presentation. I was the facilitator for this event, guiding participants in between the different showrooms and introducing the chefs prior to their demonstrations.
Pizza Masterclass | August 22, 2019
A special masterclass, held at O’Munaciello in Miami, to teach a select group of the most well-known bloggers and influencers the art and tradition of authentic Neopolitan pizza making. The presentation focused on promoting and educating about the following authentic Italian products: Piennolo DOP cherry tomatoes, Extra virgin olive oil DOP from Puglia region, Gaeta PDO olives, Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, Prosciutto San Daniele DOP, Provolone Valpadana PDO, Prosciutto di Parma PDO and Pantelleria DOP capers.
Authentic Italian Table | November 20, 2019
The second edition of Miami’s most prestigious authentic Italian wine and food fair. My role was to help the marketing director prepare the various presenters and facilitate the flow of events.
Masterclass with Chef Cristiano Tomei | April 28, 2020
This class happened via Zoom during covid lockdown. I was among the bloggers invited to attend and promote the event and the Italian products used during it.
I had the opportunity to count on the collaboration of Jenifer since 2015 for different communication campaigns dedicated to the promotion of the Italian food & beverage productions in the US market. Jenifer is articulate and a pleasure to work with. She is very conscientious and dedicated to her work. She is a dependable speaker as she was able to communicate clearly and effectively to a wide array of professionals from the hospitality industry at several seminars and events that the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce organized in Miami.
We all appreciated how she fine tuned the message of the campaigns for the various target audiences. She had always a positive attitude and a desire to produce quality work.
