REGIONE SICILIANA, under the auspices of the Italian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, was the special guest at the VIII Week of the Italian Cuisine in the World, held in Dubai last week, and present the “SICILY 2025, The Culinary Journey” after being nominated European Region of Food and Wine in the World for 2025.
A dedicated press conference was organized and guested from the very active Mr Amedeo Scarpa, Director of ITA, Italian Trade Agency, UAE, last November 14: “We have the pleasure of inviting you to the press conference about the historical, social and cultural value of the Sicily’s culinary heritage – European Region of Gastronomy 2025 in the context of the Mediterranean diet”. Italian Trade Commission in Dubai is always so dedicated in helping and promoting Italians institutions and companies who choose to be in Dubai, the first gate to UAE experience when you come from Italy.
The press conference was followed from an amazing Sicilian Show Cooking at Amunì Restaurant & Lounge (Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel – 50th & 51th floor Trade Centre), last November 16th. Brand Identity: Sicilian Chef Ambassador Giacomino Drago from Il Pastaio, Tanino Drago, Drago Restaurant Group Los Angeles and Alessandro Miceli from Amunì Restaurant.
The first Sicilian Show Cooking of Sicily Region like the European Region of Food and Wine in the world for 2025. Sicily Region, “Sicily’s culinary heritage – European Region of Gastronomy 2025” in the context of the Mediterranean diet.
At the event the presence of the head of Italians representative’s institutions like his Excellency the Ambassador of Italy in UAE, Mr. Lorenzo Fanara, the Vice-President of the Sicily Region, Luca Sammartino, few Top Sicilian Chefs like Alessandro Miceli and Giacomino Draco, Prof. Vincenzo Russo from IULM University in Milan, and many guests from the Italian Community in Dubai along with some emirates representatives of the food and beverage industry.
The event was honoured by the presence of his Excellency Lorenzo Fanara, Italian Ambassador of Italy in UAE: “I wanted to be here today. I wanted to come. I had to come. I’m pleased to come because this is a great event within the Italian cuisine week. Actually, as many of you already know, it’s a long way. At least it’s two weeks long, two weeks of event devoted to Italian cuisine because we attach great importance to our Italian cuisine. We attach importance because we think it’s a matter of identity, it’s a matter of culture, it’s a matter of prestige, it’s also one of our greatest soft powers. And today I’m very pleased because, as Amadeo said before, I’m also Sicilian, so when we talk about cuisine, we always talk about traditions”.
The main guest of the day was Mr. Luca Sammartino, Vice President Sicily Region, Councilor of Agriculture, Rural Development and Mediterranean Fisheries and he shared with the us his thoughts: “Dubai represents a great Italian community that has invested and that brings tradition to our Italian cuisine, and above all, the roots of our Region. We are now at the gate of the recognition in Europe of Sicily’s culinary heritage, European Region of Gastronomy 2025 in the context of the Mediterranean diet, and we’re proud to launch from Dubai, in this special VIII Week of the Italian Cuisine in the World. This new brand launched today will accompany us in this two years campaign of promotion, of communication, that as Government of Sicilian Region, we have put on the field to pay homage to the history and to the culinary tradition of our land, but above all to put in the center the extraordinary quality of Sicilian agri-food products that over the years have been making with love and deep passion, thanks to the wise hands of our Italian chefs, our moms, allow me to say that to the entire European people. And today here in Dubai we continue to bring our tradition to make sure that even in these markets the Sicilian agri-food products can be recognized for what they are. Extraordinary products made by many efforts, especially from our farmers, well together with our history and traditions, a story of a beautiful land that speaks of nature, landscapes, monuments, our identity, always combined with a great pasta dish. Today is the first stage of a long calendar of activities, that will see our Region engaged for two years all together with events, competitions, meetings, initiatives that will involve from the smallest to the biggest players to pay homage to a brand, but above all to tell why in 2025 our region deserves to be the European Region of Gastronomy”.
This project has the scientific support from Prof. Vincenzo Russo, Professor of Consumer Psychology and Neuromarketing at the IULM Free University of Languages and Communication in Milan, Scientific Director of the IULM Behaviour and Brain Lab Neuromarketing Research Center and Scientific director of the Master in Food and Wine Communication: “I’m so proud to be here in Dubai to promote the nomination that we have just received from the European Regency of Political and Political Science, which means two years of work to be able to do what little has been done. We have an excellent financial situation, but there is still a lack of network between hotels, and the function of the local distribution characterizes our financial situation. The project involves the recovery of the rich, the creation of networks, the distribution of goods, and above all the formation of information on the cleanliness of the facilities, even for consumers who must search for the products and services they need. The IULM University of Milan that I’m today representing has the scientific direction of the project. The concept is based on the experiences we have built over the past 20 years. The second reason is that we have a monitoring, which we have been doing since 2021, of the communication and communication between the cities and the citizens. We have a monitoring since 2021, 2022, 2023, and we will continue to monitor it even in the last three years.
Last, but not least, few words from the proud Sicilian Chefs who cooked amazing regional food for all of us. First of all Chef Giacomino Drago: “Thank you so much. Wow, what a beautiful event. We are so honoured to have all of you here. My name is Giacomino Drago. My family is originally from Sicily, of course, but we live in Los Angeles nowadays. And it is me and four of my brothers and a sister. We have eight restaurants in California, and we have also two restaurants in Dubai: Il Pastaio and Amunì. We believe in this place. We have been here for four years and we couldn’t be more honoured to be here to celebrate the week of the Italian Cuisine in the World. Especially today being here with our Vice President from Sicily Region, the Ambassador of Italy in UAE, the Council of Italy in Dubai, and all of you. I hope you enjoy the Sicilian special today menu. Some arancini, some eggplant from Sicily, some dried fava beans. And I leave you more for the other chefs to talk about. But I hope you enjoy it, and I’ll appreciate your presence here today, it has been an honour”. And then Chef Alessandro Miceli: “I’m very happy to have many of my friends in Dubai here today to share this journey with me. I just want to start with the name of this new restaurant in town: Amunì. It means ‘Let’s go!’ in Italian, ‘Yalla Yalla!’ in Arabic. This is the best way to start our conversation, any chat actually. I hope you enjoy it. I hope it gives you more vibes about our Sicilian commons roots. We are going now to prepare some more sicilian pasta for you, one of our specialities, with almonds pesto and red prawns. I’m proud of my homeland and this is a good opportunity for all of us Sicilians to show the best of our culture and lifestyle all over the world. Thank you for all the people that came here today and I’m proud to represent this cuisine here in Dubai, everyday”.
So, stay tuned and let’s discover more about the amazing Sicily Region, in the next appointments in town or visiting the sunniest and warmest island in Italy.
