Massimiliano Alajmo, Three-Star Michelin Chef of Le Calandre Restaurant to Headline Launch of The International Day of Italian Cuisines at The Italian Culinary Academy

NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- With a family-run restaurant empire, gourmet food shop, product line, boutique hotel and the "Best Cookbook in the World" all under his belt, Massimiliano Alajmo of Le Calandre restaurant (Padua, Italy) is one of Italy's most highly regarded chefs. On January 12th and 13th, Alajmo, the youngest three-star Michelin chef in the world, will headline the launch of The International Day of Italian Cuisines (IDIC) at The Italian Culinary Academy. 

As in the past, the event will celebrate the authenticity and quality of Italian Cuisine by showcasing a traditional dish of Italy. This year, the dish of honor will be Pesto alla Genovese.  

Renowned chef, Cesare Casella, Dean of The Italian Culinary Academy, has put together an appetizing program of dinners, product tastings, industry workshops, video conferencing and master cooking classes. The New York kick-off of the IDIC has become the exclusive backdrop to the Italian Cuisine Worldwide Awards, which will be announced during a Gala Dinner prepared by Massimiliano Alajmo.

Promoted by itchefs-GVCI, a network of more than 1,200 chefs and culinary professionals working in 70 countries, the fourth edition of the IDIC will continue to cultivate two principal ideas.  The 2011 IDIC event further promotes and protects authentic and quality Italian Cuisine against the increasing worldwide false representations of what is "authentic Italian" cuisine and endorses the role of Italian Cuisine chefs around the world.

On January 17th, thousands of chefs and restaurants worldwide will simultaneously cook a designated dish, according to the Italian culinary traditions signifying unity and authenticity among Italian Cuisine chefs. Since 2008, a different authentic dish was chosen for all to cook. In 2008 the dish was Spaghetti alla Carbonara, in 2009 Risotto alla Milanese and in 2010 Tagliatelle al Ragu Bolognese. The 2011 IDIC dish will be Pesto alla Genovese, which is one of the most well-known dishes outside of Italy but at the same time, one the most commonly counterfeit dishes. 

Whether born in Italy or not, the chefs of quality Italian Cuisine working outside Italy are very special professional figures, given the cultural characteristic and the tenets of the cuisine to which they are committed. They are culinary messengers of a captivating lifestyle and symbolize healthy habits at the table. The Italian Cuisine chefs in the world are the heart of a global business that generates more than an estimated $50 billion in revenues, in almost 70,000 restaurants abroad, in which almost one million workers are employed.

Detailed information on the IDIC, its goal, history and achievements, is available on www.itchefs-gvci.com.  New York will be the center of this worldwide celebration of Italian Cuisine with additional activities taking place in other major cities worldwide.

For additional information about The Italian Culinary Academy, please visit www.ItalianCulinaryAcademy.com, or call 1-888-324-CHEF.

About The Italian Culinary Academy

The Italian Culinary Academy (The ICA), founded in 2007 as a sister school to the world-renowned French Culinary Institute, offers the country's most rigorous education in authentic Italian cuisine. The ICA's programs, all of which are informed by its time-tested, hands-on Total Immersion(SM) method of instruction, include an extensive roster of classes for serious amateurs seeking quality, intensive education in a condensed period of time. The school is located at The International Culinary Center in New York City. For more information, please visit www.ItalianCulinaryAcademy.com.

SOURCE The Italian Culinary Academy