Chefs and govt team up for 'FoodAct'

(ANSA) - Milan, July 29 - Over 40 of Italy's most important chefs and three ministers representing the Italian government presented 'FoodAct' during the Italian Cooking Forum at Expo Milano 2015. The action plan aims to put values on Italian cuisine, with those in the sector and institutions agreeing to work together to promote Italian specialties through 10 concrete actions, including targets and innovative tools. Some of the chefs at the forum were Gualtiero Marchesi, Carlo Cracco, Massimo Bottura, Davide Scabin and Antonio Cannavacciuolo. The forum was launched from this food-themed Expo but will become a permanent work tool coordinated by the agriculture ministry. One of its aims is to strengthen tourism as associated with dining in order to promote specific territories, connecting wine and food with local tourist routes. "Italy is known for its art, music and archaeological heritage as well as its extraordinary cuisine," said Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. "We can keep these elements together, elements that make Italy the most popular travel destination for world tourists." High-level cuisine and training must go hand in hand, according to the FoodAct, which aims to bolster current training hubs and set up new ones. "Growth has been seen in hotelier schools, Education Minister Stefania Giannini said. "Some 230,000 students have chosen them, accounting for 43% of those that do not choose to go to lyceums. Their strength lies in the alternating of education and work". FoodAct calls for marketing abroad in coordination with the government's internationalization plan, rendering chefs 'ambassadors' for Italian products. "We must get past the weaknesses and fragmentation of public interventions, fostering connections and dialogue," said Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina.
    "Chefs are ambassadors, and the FoodAct will help us to become stronger and more coordinated". "We are creating culture through our dishes," claims chef Massimo Bottura, "and with our restaurants, in which we train the younger generations as did those during the Renaissance". Chefs called for less bureaucracy, especially concerning procedures for international apprenticeships.
    That is an issue under discussion with the government, "since over 1,800 young cooks from around the world want to work with us here in Modena," said Bottura.
    "But bureaucracy makes it difficult".