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?

We have been blogging about celebrity Chefs for some time now, and we are finally proud to announce the launch of the Italian Food Lovers Chef Networks!

Thanks to the never-stopping activity of Academia Barilla’s Italian Culinary Specialist Team in the United States, and to their relations with several top and celebrity Italian Chefs, we put together a network of guest Chefs who will be contibuting to our Italian Food Lovers blog sharing their Italian food love, passion, experience and, of course, gourmet recipes and special Chef’s cooking tips!

Each month we will introduce a new Italian Food Lovers Guest Chef, who will then start contributing on regular monthly basis. We have a nice line-up of celebrity gourmet Chef who will share their culinary secrets with us.

No anticipations, just get ready to meet our first Chef Network Guest next Monday, Chef Douglas D’Avico from Trattoria n. 10 Restaurant in Chicago.

Welcome to the Italian Food Lovers Chef Network series!

Do you remember the book Parma, a Capital of Italian Gastronomy, by celebrity Chef and cookbook writer Giuliano Bugialli?

We quote the cookbook very often on our blog not only because Chef Bugialli is a good friend of Academia Barilla, but also because the cookbook itself is published from Academia Barilla Editions, and is available at the Academia Barilla online store.

Chef Bugialli’s cookbook won last year the Gourmand World Cookbook Award 2007 in the Best Italian Corporate Book category, and this year has been shortlisted for Best in the World in the Gourmand Awards, same category Best Corporate Book, this time global.

The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards is an initiative launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair for the first time in 1995. After more than 10 years the Awards, annual celebration of “those who cooks with words”, has become one of the most important events in the industry, gathering a crowd of professionals from all over the world in cookbook business, including several universities and cookbook libraries.

Since 1999 there has been an awards category for books on Italian cooking. This year in London there were 845 cookbooks from 107 countries competing in 40 categories for Best in the World.

The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are big especially in Europe, but are very relevant also around the world. In 2006 the awards visited Kuala Lumpur and the year after moved to Beijing. Last April 13 the 2008 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards were held in London, UK.

Chef Bugialli’s Parma cookbook is a great book to discover both the gourmet and the cultural souls of Parma, the Capital of the Italian Food Valley. Rich in content as well as recipes, the cookbook is also illustrated by great photos (including all the images in this blog post) by photographer Andy Ryan.

Unfortunately, Giuliano Bugialli’s cookbook didn’t make it for the final award gala at London’s Olympia Theatre, the competition was tough with other very good 12 books from other counties in the same category.

Nevertheless, Academia Barilla has been awarded for the work carried on by BIGAB, Academia Barilla’s Gastronomic Library in Parma. As Gourmand World Cookbook Awards Vice President Bo Masser said:

“The creation of the Gastronomic Library of Academia Barilla and the mission of Academia Barilla are very impressive“.

The Jury honored Academia Barilla with a “Special Award” and the following mention:

“The work of Academia Barilla in Parma is very important. It deserves this award with International recognition for its leadership for understanding and taking action for world culinary culture“.

Wow, that’s a huge honor!

Please join the Italian Food Lovers blogging team in a standing ovation for the fellows at the Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library: good job, BIGAB! Compliments!

And compliments to Chef Giuliano Bugialli too for the Italian Gourmand Cookbook Award won last year!

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.