Tastings of Italy in characteristic places such as Fort Jesus, meetings to talk about Italian wine and extra virgin olive oil with famous Kenyan influencers and 'content creators', master classes for local chefs with taste ambassador Luca Mastromattei, an exhibition of Italian products of excellence on Nairobi's electric buses and on the tuk tuks of Malindi, Watamu and Diani, conferences on food science and human nutrition with experts, training for tourism and hospitality students, cocktail dinners and much more. With Italian restaurateurs playing their part, offering a menu of Italian specialities.

This is the rich programme of the Italian Cuisine Week in Kenya, the initiative of the Italian Embassy with the Italian Cultural Institute in Nairobi and the Italian Trade Agency, which was launched yesterday by Ambassador Roberto Natali, in the presence of Kenyan government representatives and international journalists.

The initiative, devised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to promote Italian food and wine traditions as a distinctive trait of Italian identity and culture, will kick off on Saturday 11 November in Nairobi and conclude on Saturday 19 in Malindi.
Nairobi and the coast will be the stage for a series of events to promote food and the culture of eating and drinking well, and in a healthy manner according to the dictates of the Mediterranean diet, in a country like Kenya that increasingly appreciates Italian cuisine.

"Italian cuisine rests on two fundamental pillars," Natali recalled, "the products, which originate from a very varied territory, from knowledge and respect for nature and biodiversity, and the use of the same through craftsmanship, teaching and that touch of healthy 'joie de vivre', which is entirely Italian.

The diplomat dwelt on tradition, scientific research and modern technologies that still make the 'trademark' of Italian cuisine unique, but also on the issue of Italian sounding.
"Italian products are among the most appreciated but also among the most imitated and disguised in the world, real 'fakes' that cannot have the same quality and attention to taste as the original ones. With this initiative we want to spread not only the goodness, authenticity and quality of our food and wines, but also their uniqueness'.

This year a number of products are sponsors of the initiative, with Grana Padano, the Monograno Felicetti pasta factory, and the Abruzzo wine houses San Marzano and Marramiero, the Risobuono and Gm Bloom companies joining in.
The Week of Italian Cuisine in the World will also dedicate two days to children, with 'pizza master classes for kids' in two pizzerias in Nairobi and Watamu. It is possible to book these two events for children by writing to iicnairobi@esteri.it

Here the program and how to partecipate: