The Associazione Formaggi Italiani DOP e IGP (AFIDOP) will offer live interactive cooking demonstrations and educational seminars showcasing four of Italy’s premium Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheeses at Gulfood.
This year, AFIDOP will highlight four Italian PDO cheeses: Grana Padano, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana and Pecorino Romano with background material on each, complemented by tastings at the stand.
Chef Alessandro Cargiolli, executive chef at Nais Italian Kitchen in JLT, Dubai will collaborate with AFIDOP to host cooking demonstrations on 22 and 23 February.
Four recipes, each highlighting one of the selected PDO cheeses will be prepared and Chef Alessandro will talk guests through the preparation and cooking process whilst offering his tips on working with the four cheeses.
A taste of each dish will be presented upon completion.
AFIDOP chairman Nicola Cesare Baldrighi, commented: “With the growing appetite for the UAE’s F&B market, it is essential for AFIDOP to not only have a presence at the exhibition but to also have some facetime with current and prospective clients.
“Equally, with the rise of healthy eating trends and the desire to consume premium quality products, along with the region’s love of authentic Italian food, our cheeses, given their PDO status are perfect to meet those needs,” Baldrighi added.
AFIDOP encompasses 25 regional Italian accreditations, to create the main consortia dedicated to the protection of Italian PDO cheeses.
The group promotes and protects cheeses originating from different geographic regions of Italy, made using all-natural processes under EU law.
Currently there are 49 PDO cheeses produced in Italy, and information on each of these will be available at the AFIDOP stand.
Baldrighi added: “In the food industry, experience and knowledge are key, and events like Gulfood not only allow us to be in direct contact with our customers in an important market, but also allow us to continually learn and evolve.
“We felt the addition of interactive cooking demonstrations with a local chef further showcases our commitment to and appreciate for the region.”
The 2016 edition of Gulfood will take place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 21-25 February.
AFIDOP can be found at stand S1-320; Sheikh Saeed Hall 1.
