Last October the City of Parma hosted the first International edition of GNAM, an event focusing on Gastronomy in Modern Art. GNAM needed a context of excellence in food culture, and the choice to locate GNAM in Parma and its territory in the heart of the Italian Food Valley has certainly been not casual.

In this context, Academia Barilla, as the point of reference and most credible source for Italian gastronomy, couldn’t miss the opportunity to collaborate with the organizers to ensure the success and gastronomic relevance of the GNAM Festival.

The program created for the multidisciplinary event offered different artistic exhibitions in various venues all around the city of Parma and its province. This represented a new and innovative approach to the art of eating, exploring all political, cultural and social implications lying beyond the food’s concept, through the reading of contemporary arts.

In-between its opening and closing dates (October 2007-January 2008) GNAM celebrated gastronomy represented through expressive modern and contemporary art forms such as photography, painting, installations, sculpture, theater and cinema.

GNAM’s wide-ranging program started last October with the main event “Foodscapes – Art & Gastromony” (ended January 2008), curated by Lóránd Hegyi, Director of the Saint-Etienne Modern Art Museum in France. Foodscapes displayed artwork by more than 40 international artists exploring different concepts of food and eating. “Feeding is private and collective at the same time, something strictly personal and simultaneously public,” said Hungarian curator Lóránd Hegyi.

Another of the top events in the GNAM calendar was “Hungry Planet”, a photo exhibition of the work of US photographers Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio, who traveled across five continents and 24 countries photographing families and exploring differences in their dining rituals.

The program includes many other interesting appointments, and International celebrity guests, including French actor Gérard Depardieu, cookbook author Eve Ensler, movie director Emir Kusturica, and many more VIP guests.

We couldn’t cover this Parma event last winter, as our blogging and editorial team spent the last months mostly in the United States. We now have the opportunity to blog about the event, thanks to one of the GNAM Festival’s collateral events, whose opening last week at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center brought back the entire gastronomy / art symbiosis in Parma.

We will take a little more time tomorrow to talk about “Dolce Vita“, a photo exhibition open to the public at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center (free entrance), where thousands of unforgettable shots of famous celebrities, taken by “Master Paparazzi” Marcello Geppetti, captured precious moments of the Italian “Dolce Vita”, the golden age of Italian post-WWII, between the 50’s and the 70’s.

Feel free to pay a visit at the Academia Barilla to see the exhibition, that will be open to the public until November 16, 2008. Directions to the Academia Barilla Culinary Center in Parma? Check out the Google Map here below.

Welcome to the Italian Food Lovers Chef Network series and to its official opening with the assignment of the first Guest Chef residency to Chef Douglas D’Avico from Chicago, Illinois.

Chef Douglas D’Avico, also known as Doug, decided to become a professional Chef as he loves being around food and the environment of the kitchen. Today Chef D’Avico is the top Chef at the Trattoria N0. 10 in Chicago, where the restaurant specialty is contemporary Italian cuisine.

Before taking the lead in the kitchen at Trattoria No. 10 in Chicago and been awarded with 3 Stars by the Chicago Tribune in 1991, he worked at a horse racing park, a river boat casino and for hotels in Miami, Florida and Honolulu, Hawaii, as he told us in a recent interview.

Among the other questions, we asked him what was the secret ingredient in being a top Chef, and he answered “good fresh ingredients“.

Chef D’Avico’s favorite food is seafood and pasta, and he has a definition of Italian cuisine as “clean, fresh and simple“. Also, Chef D’avico definition of Italian gourmet is “taking fresh produce, artisan ingredients, and cooking with care and respect“.

Chef Douglas D’avico is an adopter and supporter of Academia Barilla products, for his culinary creations. He states that Academia Barilla products are “very good quality with clean flavors“, and you can always find them in his menus.

You can trust Chef D’Avico’s judgment or give it a try for yourself at the Academia Barilla online store, where plenty of Italian gourmet specialties are available and just a click away, and where you can also find the authentic Italian gourmet ingredients used in gourmet recipes by Chef D’Avico and other top Chefs around the world who take Italian cuisine seriously and to the next level.

If you want to get in touch with Chef D’Avico you can meet him at Trattoria N.10, 10 N. Dearborn, Chicago IL 60602 (Google map below). Please visit the restaurant website at www.trattoriaten.com for complete contact info but also detailed menus, restaurant reviews, reservations for private parties and restaurant gift cards. Also, feel free to call directly Trattoria No. 10 at +1 (312) 984-1718.

Since Chef D’Avico’s “plat fort” is seafood, he will be back with us tomorrow to share his first recipe, a yummy Octopus Carpaccio with Blood Oranges. We can’t wait, can you?

Meet Lynn Novo, a true Italian food lover and a Chef who has studied culinary arts at schools around the world - including most recentlyl at the Academia Barilla Culinary School in Parma, Italy, where she spent some time studying with a group of students from the American Personal and Private Chef Association.

Lynn Novo is a chef, kitchen manager, and recipe developer. She owns Comfort Sisters, an Atlanta, Georgia based meal service company that plans customized meals and prepares from-scratch home-cooked food for busy executives. Lynn teaches cooking classes that feature food and wine pairings and authentic Italian cuisine, and actively promotes the use of Italian regional, artisanal food products.

She is the chef for the very popular “Wine Makes the Meal” series of classes at The Cook’s Warehouse in Atlanta, where you can also find the full range of Academia Barilla’s gourmet specialty products. As Special Events Coordinator for The Cook’s Warehouse and Sherlock’s Wine Merchant Store in Decatur GA, Lynn manages the showroom kitchen for special events such as the Decatur Book Festival and has assisted celebrity chefs including Scott Peacock, Virginia Willis, Marvin Woods, and Shirley Corriher.

Beside of running all these activities, Lynn is also the host and guide of VIP gourmet trips to the Academia Barilla Culinary School in Parma - her next gourmet trip to Italy is scheduled for next September 21-26, 2008. If you live in the US SouthWest and want to join Lynn’s group for a guided culinary trip to Italy, we advice that you get in touch with her as soon as possible, as space is limited, and reservations are running out!

In this post are some pictures of Lynn with some fellow travelers at her latest passage from Parma, engaging in a culinary session, but also enjoying the results of the cooking.

Do you want to get in touch with Lynn Novo? Just call +1 (678) 693-4133, or try to catch up with her in person tracking her calendar of events at the Cook’s Warehouse in Atlanta, where she proposes her exploration of the food of Emilia-Romagna, the heartland of Italy.

This evening, Thursday April 24 from 7pm to 9pm, Lynn will be the host of a gourmet event in Decatur, during which she will share with participants recipes highlights, her Italian cooking experience, and her deep knowledge on food ingredients of the region.

Lynn’s Emilia-Romagna-inspired menu includes both Parmigiano-Reggiano with Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale (Parmigiano Cheese with aged Balsamic Vinegar) and Funghi Marinati (Marinated Mushrooms) with Salame di Finocchio (Sausage with fennel) as antipasti.

Then, Lynn follows not with one but with two pasta dishes: Tagliatelle al Prosciutto (Egg Pasta with Prosciutto di Parma and Cheese) and Maltagliati alla Bolognese, which features a Bolognese style Meat Ragu.

Space is limited (capacity: 25), so call Lynn Novo now to secure your reservation! The address is 180 West Ponce de Leon Avenue, 30030 Decatur, GA. Driving directions? Google Map here below for your convenience.

Experience Italy with Lynn Novo, in Atlanta with Lynn’s signature foods, or in Parma at the Academia Barilla Culinary School!

Are you an olive oil virgin? Do you really know your balsamic? Are you ready to move past your salad days (well, at least for these two great condiments!)?

Join Academia Barilla Italian Culinary Specialist and Iron Chef Judge Mario Rizzotti on Monday April 21 at the Grovewood Tavern and Wine Bar in Cleveland, Ohio, for an evening of deep insight and gourmet tasting where you will learn how to distinguish real Italian products from the fakes.

Participants will learn how to taste extra virgin olive oil and Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena the professional way. More to it, the ingredients are matched to a yummy 5-course dinner where you can experience the ingredients “in action”!

The ingrediends and dishes on the Grove Tavern menu:

100% Italian Unfiltered EVOO From Sicily, made from Cerasuola and Nocellara del Belice olives. Medium fruitiness, with very fresh aromas, showing strong undertones of green grass, pachino tomatoes and oregano.
Course One - Antipasto Salumi Misti and Mozzarella di Bufala drizzled with Academia Barilla 100% Unfiltered EVOO from Sicily.

Balsamic Must of Modena, aged 8 years The luscious aromas of the Modena grapes and the sophistication of barrel-aged vinegar blend into a unique product that contains all the richness of a Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and the full-bodied texture of the honey-like grape must.
Course Two - Primo piatto Risotto with Amarone and radicchio, in Parmesan cup, drizzled with balsamic must, aged 8 years.

100% Italian EVOO From Italy, made from a blend of traditional Italian olive varietals. Delicate intensity, with fresh olive flavors and a well-rounded body.
3 year old Balsamic Vinegar of Modena From Modena, the aroma and flavor are tangy with hints of fruit and wood; rich and full of oak. The texture is thick, sweet and pungent.
Course Three - Insalata Insalata Tricolore – Belgian endive, radicchio and arugula, served with 100% Italian EVOO and 3 year old balsamic vinegar of Modena.

Chianti Jelly Artisinally produced. The condiment shows a delicate but intense aroma, without wine notes but rich in fragrance. On the palate it is delicate, non-alcoholic, fragranced, soft and with a rounded texture.
Toscano Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) From Tuscany, made from Moraiolo, Leccino, and Frantoio olives. Medium-strong intensity, showing aromas and flavors of herbs, artichoke, green pepper, and olive pulp.
Course Four - Carne Seared Lamb Chop with Chianti Jelly and drizzled with Toscano EVOO, accompanied with penne pasta with yellow squash and balsamic vinegar.

25 year old Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale This exclusive product comes from the ancient cellars in and around Modena. Its all-enveloping flavor and unmatched aroma depend on the meticulous selection of the best local grapes, and on the masterful ageing process which entails numerous transfers of vinegar to small barrels over the 25 year period. This most precious of elixirs shows an intense and captivating aroma and concentrated flavors, with a creamy, dense, remarkably rich texture.
Dessert DOLCE Vanilla gelato with fresh berries, drizzled with 25 year old Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale.

Interested? Then rush to make your reservation by calling +1 (216) 531-4900, as seating is limited and by reservation only. The dinner and tasting price is $40 per person (add wine pairings $24, tax and gratuity not included).

The address to the Grovewood Tavern is 17105 Grovewood Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44110. As usual, we provide you with a useful Google Map for your driving directions.

Napa Valley in Los Angeles? You may think this is not possible, and certainly it would be impossible if it wasn’t for our friends at Learn About Wine, who have been promoting Wine Culture in the Los Angeles area for the last few years.

This is not the first time Academia Barilla partners Learn About Wine (LAW) for a food and wine tasting event in Southern California, as some of our blog readers can recall.

Academia Barilla’s Italian Culinary Specialist Francesco Zimone is always ready to join our friends at LAW to set up a tasting event with some of our delicious Italian food specialties.

Tomorrow, Friday March 7, between 7.30pm and 9.30pm PST, Francesco will be joining again Learn About Wine for a special event in Culver City, Los Angeles, where Napa Valley wines will meet gourmet food.

The list of Napa Valley wines available for tasting is impressive, and if you are a wine lover who lives in the area you should try not to miss this event. Check LAW’s website for the full list of Napa Valley wines available at the event, that you can enjoy while tasting samples of Academia Barilla’s Italian extra virgin olive oils and Balsamic Vinegars of Modena.

The address for the Learn About Wine event is HD Buttercup in Culver City, 3225 Helms Ave at Venice Blvd. A Google Map to the event is provided here below for your driving direction needs.

Entry fee is $60 per person / $100 per couple (online only), while TASTE Members pay only $48 (find more info about the very valuable LAW membership programs at LearnAboutWine.com).

Get your ticket in advance, as entry fee at the door will rise up to $75 per person. For more information and booking you can also call Learn About Wines at (+1) 310-451-7600.