June 15 - 16 Seminar Planned:
"Italian Cuisine: A Victim of Its Own Success?"
Italian cuisine is the most popular cuisine in America. Its success has prompted use and abuse! Sizable investments have been made in America by large companies to exploit the popularity of Italian Cuisine, with the obvious results of manipulating its authenticity in the kitchen and its products on the shelves of grocery stores and supermarkets throughout America
Consumers lack familiarity with Italian food products and authenticity may not necessarily be of interest to them. This ignorance is aided by many manufacturers inventing new Italian sounding names to commercialize products. We need to safeguard our identity and our integrity; the only way we can do so is through Education---first with the restaurant operators, the consumers and the Learning institutions.
To explore this vast topic, GRI, the leading restaurant authority on Italian cuisine in North America, believes that there are many ways to fight this battle. A two-day Seminar is now being planned and developed, with specially invited guest panelists from Italy and the USA, who will explore these issues and arrive at a consensus. In doing so, the seminar will establish guidelines for all to follow to safeguard our cuisine, our identity and our culture.
Check back to this web site for further information in the coming weeks.
GRI-WNYC Radio Interview
GRI founder and chairman Tony May together with Lou Di Palo (www.dipaloselects.com) of Di Palo Fine Foods discusses authentic Italian cuisine on NYC's most popular public talk radio program, the Leonard Lopate Show.
Click here to listen to the interview
2010 GRI Members Enjoy Grand Trip
This year's GRI member trip to the region of Tuscany and eternal city of Rome was spectacular! We will provide a detailed wrap-up in the next issue of the newsletter but wanted to share just a few photos and highlights. One of our gracious hosts who assisted us with coordinating many details of the trip itinerary, Dr. Alessandro Falassi, provided us with personally guided tours of the historical highlights of Siena, Castellina, and Pienza. Our Sponsor host this year, Banfi Vintners (www.banfivintners.com), coordinated for us: an excellent product & wine presentation and luncheon at the Enoteca Italiana di Siena; visits to Cecchi's Castello Montauto Vineyards & Winery; a presentation and dinner at Cecchi's Villa Cerna Estate; a very memorable day and evening at Castello Banfi that included a winery tour, formal wine tasting, a “Pinci Pasta” demonstration and luncheon, a beautiful traditional Tuscan flag throwing and drum ceremony and reception in the courtyard of the Castello; this was followed by a Gala dinner highlighted by very special Banfi wine selections; and it didn't end there, the following morning they accompanied us to a great tour and tasting at Fontana Candida winery followed by a traditional Roman menu for lunch at the winery's Enoteca on property. Much more to come….
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For more photos of the GRI Trip, click here.
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GRI-IACC New Ospitalita Italiana
Certification Registration Form
Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani (GRI), in association with the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce (IACC), invites all its member restaurants and associate restaurants across the country to register for a special and excitingly new certification, Ospitalita Italiana, promoted by the ISNART, Italy's National Institute of Tourism.
Available to Italian restaurants around the world, the ISNART certification is a mark of excellence to those restaurants demonstrating a commitment to authenticity in Italian cuisine. As the certification is aligned closely with the mission of GRI and its efforts to educate the general public about true Italian cuisine, GRI is calling upon all our GRI Restaurant Members and Associates Restaurants to complete the online registration for this prestigious recognition to determine if they qualify.
| To register online: (deadline: June 20) | |
| • STEP 1: | Download the registration form, click here. |
| • STEP 2: | Complete and attach it to your return e-mail to: membership@gruppo.com |
| • STEP 3: | Your form will be reviewed |
| • STEP 4: | If approved, you will be contacted for further information, including recipes and a list of DOP products you employ in your menu. |
For further inforamtion, please contact David Ernst, GRI Co-Executive Director at 646-624-2885, Ext. 117, or e-mail membership@gruppo.com.
GRI- Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò
Lecture Series Proves Big Success!
With the conclusion of the April 27 lecture featuring Lou DiPalo of DiPalo's Fine Foods (Little Italy), Louis Coluccio, Jr. of Coluccio & Son (Brooklyn) and moderator Michele Scicolone, GRI and Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò of New York University completed the first three of six special culinary lectures in their collaborative series entitled, Genuinely Italian.
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In December of 2009, GRI and Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò announced their new partnership to packed house. The standing room only audiences have been the norm ever since for Stefano Milioni, John Mariani and the Italian specialty store events. “The success of the lectures and the marvelous reception from the Casa Italiana membership has been very gratifying,” states GRI President Gianfranco Sorrentino. Casa Italiana Director Stefano Albertini agrees that the series in one of the most successful in their calendar, “We could not be happier with our partnership with GRI.. They have filled a real niche in our cultural events offerings.”
With the summer months, the New York University facility (a national landmark) is closed. The Genuinely Italian series will resume in September with a lecture entitled, “Has Regionalism Been Lost in Italian Cuisine”. Check back with the GRI web site in late August − Early September for more information..
2010 GRI Scholarship
We are pleased to announce the 2010 GRI-Giacomo Bologna Scholarship Trip will be hosted by Friuli Venezia-Giula at the end of May, more details coming soon.