As we already announced, we begin this blog post series with articles that are intended to make you wish you were here in Parma, at least for a week.

We took the inspiration from the calendar of events, initiatives and locations included in the 6-day Academia Barilla VIP guided gastronomy tour to Emilia-Romagna promoted by Frank DiMaria, so we decided to show you a little bit around beforehand.

Today’s post is dedicated to the discovery of Parma, which is the centerpiece of the Emilia-Romagna experience in this VIP gastronomy tour.
We wrote many blog posts about Parma in the past, being the capital of the Italian Food Valley and also home town to Academia Barilla and the Academia Barilla Culinary Center.

Last year we created a full virtual visit experience with slideshows, photo galleries and Google Maps, so we have plenty of content to tell you about our favorite city in the world.

With Frank DiMaria you will discover several aspects of Parma. Upon arrival, you will immediately discover Parma’s hospitality, landing at one of the best Hotel locations in town, the 5-star Sofitel Grand Hotel de la Ville, where a “welcome aperitivo” will be waiting the VIP tour participants at the lounge bar of the hotel on the opening night.

Grand Hotel de la Ville is a prestigious building, a place in which the longstanding traditions of hospitality of our charming Italian town, mingles with the most evolved life-styles and the most advanced technology, planned and designed by leading Italian architects of international repute with the extraordinary participation of the great architect Renzo Piano.

More Parma gourmet locations are in the agenda of Frank DiMaria’s guided gastronomic tour, starting with a course at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center, but we will dedicate a whole post to that.

The VIP tour guests will enjoy a gourmet group dinner at an authentic local well-known Parma Pizzeria, check out Frank’s notes about it:

One of the most classical pizzerias of Parma often populated by the local VIPs. Good choice, with a wood-burning oven the pizzas are always good, and even the other plates on the menu are a surprise…

Another gourmet surprise for the VIP tour guests is also a dinner at “Il Cortile“, a delightful local restaurant in the heart of Parma, amidst the picturesque winding streets of the city’s “left bank“. As Frank DiMaria describes it:

The restaurant, a symbol of the Old Parma that has retained its original appearance with its ample, inviting veranda. Il Cortile has remained faithful to its trattoria origins, but owner Mauro and his wife Maria have added a special touch to it.

The food, the food… but also the culture, the history, the architecture. The Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour includes a full walking guided tour of the city of Parma, with Frank DiMaria as your Cicerone. Thanks to Frank you will discover how undeniably unique Parma is. Culture yes, but you will be totally absorbed by the food pleasures… on one of the guided visits to Parma our tour guests will have the pleasure to discover also the colors and vibes of a local Parma outdoor food market.

Parma is rich in art, culture and history - founded by the Romans in 183 b.c, made famous in Europe by the Farnese dynasty, the Bourbons, and the enlightened Duchy Marie Louise of Austria, Parma is now known worldwide for its unmatchable wine and food traditions.

Do you want to discover a little bit more? Explore the Google Map we created last year - click all the Google Map placemark to see pictures (and random videos) of the several Parma locations (better interaction with a larger map by clicking the link below the map).

Click on this link for a better map interaction

Note: the program may be subject to some modifications - check out the program we published here and just stay tuned with Frank DiMaria for latest news and updates on this Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour. For more info and booking call Frank at +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or email him at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

Next blog post of this series: cooking classes at Academia Barilla!

As a final post after the series dedicated to the Academia Barilla VIP gourmet tour organized by Academia Barilla Culinary School Alumni Frank DiMaria, we want to publish an email we received from Frank when we got all the info for his VIP gourmet tour to Parma and Bologna, Italy.

We publish this email to share Frank’s passion for Italian cooking, Italian gastronomy, and Italian food culture in general. No more words, here we go:

Ciao a tutti,

Our 2007 trip to Parma Italy and Academia Barilla was a huge success, because of that we have decided to do it again this year. This may become an annual event!  

For those of you who are not familiar with the tour, I have joined with Academia Barilla, the world’s premier culinary center dedicated to the art of Italian gastronomy, to personally escort you for 6 days and 5 nights in Parma, Italy’s Food Valley, for the ultimate culinary experience. Parma, a secret treasure tucked away in the heart of the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, is one of Europe’s greatest food capitals.  

I have joined with Academia Barilla to offer a full emersion culinary experience in the breathtaking region of Emilia-Romagna. Academia Barilla offers 2 hands-on cooking classes in their state-of-the-art kitchens, and an opportunity to learn from the top local chefs.  

You will experience regional delicacies, authentic menus, exclusive tastings, one-of-a kind culinary tours to regional Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Prosciutto di Parma, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, olive oil and wine producers to learn the intricacies and traditions of true Italian foods.

You will also be able to explore authentic Italian markets and gourmet shops, observe the cultural street life, and enjoy the wonderful shops, cafés and restaurants that Parma boasts.  

You won’t want to miss this culinary adventure!

A presto,
Frank DiMaria

If you need more detailed info or need to book your exclusive VIP gourmet tour to Parma, see all details at our previous blog post, and get in touch with Frank DiMaria by calling +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417 7587. You can also email Frank at frankdimaria@comcast.net to reserve your space!

See you in Parma!

Experience the ultimate Italian travel experience in the heart of Parma and Emilia-Romagna, Italy’s Food Valley, with Academia Barilla and the VIP gourmet tour organized by Academia Barilla Culinary School Alumni Frank DiMaria we announced with a previous post.

The VIP gastronomy tour dates are September 21-26, 2008, and the gourmet guided tour to Emilia-Romagna includes:

Culinary Hands-on Experience
Exclusive tasting sessions
Regional delicacies
Authentic menus
Specialty recipes
English-Italian translation
5-Star hotel accommodations
All meals included
Castle and winery visits
World class facilities
Individualized instruction
Courses from Italy’s top local Chefs
One-of-a-kind gourmet and culinary tours
Daily transportation and transfers
Tuition and course materials

Culinary travel highlights include:

The cultural street life, authentic markets, food stores, retail shops, restaurants and cafés of Parma and surrounding areas of Emilia-Romagna

Two hands-on culinary courses at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center
The spectacular historic Torrechiara Castle and medieval town nestled in the countryside of Emilia-Romagna

Gourmet tours to award-winning Parmigiano-Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma producers, where we will witness the production, authenticity and quality of traditional Italian products

Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar tastings with professional, expert techniques on how to taste these regional delicacies

An excursion to a winery in the Emilia-Romagna region for a tasting and lesson on discovering the intricacies and flavors of different wines

An excursion to the Ferrari Museum in Imola to experience first hand the history of an Italian icon

Gelato and sorbetto tasting in local area cafés

The exclusive group price for this luxury VIP guided tour is $2,900 per person, airfare excluded. For more detailed information about the VIP tour features, cost and booking please call Frank DiMaria at +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or email Frank at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

We will be blogging more over the next few weeks about this VIP gastronomy tour to Emilia-Romagna, getting into details of each activity and destination to feed you with more Italian food culture and some desire to come cook with us in Parma!

Today and tomorrow the Auditorium of the Academia Barilla Culinary Center will host a new event from PKN, the Parma Knowledge Network who has been very active recently with a series of events focused on the sustainability of the agriculture and food industry in the Italian Food Valley, the region surrounding Parma, our home base.

PKN recently held a seminar at Academia Barilla, on the topic of responsible carbon emissions, introducing the Chicago Climate Exchange at the food and agriculture producers of the Italian Food Valley, planning towards being the first agri-food district in the world to reach the zero quota in carbon emission by 2010!

Today and tomorrow PKN will discuss more production-related topics, such as quality standardization in food production on the first day of the event, and the organization of international supply chains for produce and vegetable products.

Gianluigi Zenti, Academia Barilla’s President, said that “being an absolute prime player in the food industry not only in the Italian Food Valley but worldwide, Academia Barilla is taking a lead role in food industry innovation, going beyond corporate social responsibility and getting more and more involved with key initiatives such as those promoted by the Chicago Climate Exchange and, locally, by the Parma Knowledge Network. And, being PKN our Parma neighbor,” he continued, “it is a pleasure and an honor for Academia Barilla to host their international conferences and initiatives“.

The two-day conference, in English and Italian with live translations, is moderated by special guest Mary L. Shelman, Phd., Director of the Agribusiness Program at the Harvard Business School and Chair of the Annual Agribusiness Conference in Boston. We see her very busy and with an heavy event schedule, but we will try to do our best to corner her for a brief interview for our blog. Can’t promise that, but we’ll try!

The event, being hosted at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center, will definitely benefit from the presence of the Academia Barilla Chef Team, who will be taking care of all gourmet networking breaks, lunch and dinners!

For more info on PKN, the Parma Knowledge Network, please visit the PKN website (Italian language only, sorry) at www.parmakn.org.

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.