Ciao a Tutti! Welcome to the very first edition of Cucina Italiana – A Guidebook to Italian Dining!
Italian food is no stranger to most of us. Everywhere we go, it’s not difficult to enjoy simple pizza and pasta, or to find higher-end delights like gourmet white truffles. But Italian cuisine is more than just tantalized tastebuds and warm satisfaction in our bellies. It’s more than an Italian identity, long-standing traditions or rich cultural heritage. We like to think it’s everything about life. Life around our homes as we spend time bonding with family and loved ones. Life around building friendships, kinship and society. It’s simply life as it is, a force of its own, living and breathing, before anything else.
For that reason, wherever you find Cucina Italiana, you find waves of social development. It moves and shapes your neighborhood. It nourishes and builds communities. It brings drive, momentum and a real lifeforce to a city. And Australian society has embraced Cucina Italiana whole heartedly, allowing it to embellish and enrich the country’s lifestyle. A lifestyle that is always warm, inviting and generous. In this book, we attempt to structure this lifeforce simply for the reader across four sections:
Chapter one is a guide to restaurants with “Ospitalita’ Italiana” certification in NSW and ACT. It gives practical advice on where to go as you wander around town working up an appetite. Chapter two is about the language of the kitchen – idioms and proverbs to spice up your life. Chapter three shares the regional cuisine and key ingredients of Cucina Italiana with introduction to the beneficial effects the Mediterranean diet has on your health, curated by leading experts in the sector. Chapter four is about where to buy authentic Italian food and explore Italian flavours.
In 2021, the Guidebook has gone digital taking the form of an interactive website where you will find all certified restaurants and authentic Italian recipes at your fingertips.
We hope you enjoy the energy of this collaboration. Buon appetito!