FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DISCOVER ITALIAN REGIONAL FOOD AUTHENTICITY AND SPARKLING INNOVATIVE DESIGN WITH GISELLA ISIDORI, ANDREA SERTOLI AND THEIR GUESTS

July 6, 2006, New York, NY -- On Monday, July 10, 2006, “CUCINA ITALIANA, PURE, SIMPLE, & ARTISTIC: Italian Regional Foods Revealed … the EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR”, will be held in New York at the International Summer Fancy Food Show 2006. Gisella Isidori, food consultant and a 30-year veteran of all aspects of the food business (import/export, product development, placement), and Andrea Sertoli, an award-winning travel expert and owner of Select Italy, a top international travel agency, will offer press and the trade a rich learning opportunity that combines the best of the traditional with the best of the new. Attendees will meet a singular group of Italians, become acquainted with delicious, time-honored regional (and organic) foods, and learn about the latest in bold food-related design.

FOOD AUTHENTICITY: THE NEW FRONTIER: The primary focal point of the seminar will be the increasing demand in the US market for authentic regional products from Italy, as well as the growing interest in even more local traditions and organic foodstuffs. It will furnish media and the trade with extensive information about identifying, cooking, and purchasing such wares.

The seminar will provide an introduction to such products as the Tenuta San Macario's DOP extra-virgin olive oil and its extra-virgin IGP Toscana, produced respectively in the upper and lower hill regions near Lucca. These oils have an ancient pedigree: for over a thousand years pilgrims traveling to Rome passed through the little medieval village of San Macario to stop and taste this character-filled olive oil, recognizing its excellence. These special oils can be explored and tasted at booth number 3312. Attendees will also be introduced to other Italian regional specialties, such as bomba, a spicy vegetable sauce and condiment from Calabria, or friarelli, a type of broccoli that grows only in the area of Naples (available at booth number 5471).

Although focusing on preserving “una cucina pura, semplice ed artistica e tutta all'italiana!", "pure, simple and artistic Italian cuisine," the presentation will also address two components that complement the authentic with the contemporary.

FUSION, for example, draws from these precious Italian food traditions to create something new with innovative ingredients and centuries-old experience. The birth of new gourmet combinations and examples of the mix-and-match of fine Italian products with newly introduced foods will be discussed in the seminar. Imagine, for example, a kiwi pate' from Lazio (a region of Italy famous for the kiwi Latina), served alongside perfectly steamed Maine lobster. Or a sweet and sour reduction of balsamic vinegar from the region of Emilia-Romagna to highlight a prime American Porterhouse steak. Or an Oregon-produced Italian-style fruit spritzer enjoyed in a high-design, Milan-made ice-liner for glasses.

And what about the ice glasses, called “IcyDrink”? They’re perfect examples of the next phenomenon discussed in the seminar: FOOD & DESIGN. Featured speakers include Paolo Barichella, the celebrated Milano-based designer and director of “Il Laboratorio di Architettura Alimentare" and Stefano Marcialis of the Marcialis Group. They will introduce their clever, eye-catching, and innovative wares. For example, their playful and convenient gadget that clips onto a Martini glass to hold your for nuts, chips, or pretzels; or an ingenious device that carves an adorable hors d'oeuvre out of mortadella or cheese, to be stuffed with a filling of your choice. Together these inventions form an irresistible fantasia.

“CUCINA ITALIANA, PURE, SIMPLE, & ARTISTIC: Italian Regional Foods Revealed … the EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR”, will take place on Monday, July 10th, from 8:30 am to 10:00 am; and again from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm. The venue will be the Jacob Javits Center Theater, meeting room ID05-IDO6, on the mezzanine level.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR THIS STIMULATING AND INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION AND DISCOVER WHY WE SAY IN ITALY, "A TAVOLA NON SI INVECCHIA" ["at the table, one doesn’t get old"]! AND WHY ONE MIGHT SAY EQUALLY, THAT TALKING ABOUT FOOD, ONE DOESN'T GET OLD

RSVP: Gisella Isidori
E-mail: gisella@selectitaly.com or call (847) 912-8057 * (212) 925-2417.

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ABOUT SELECT ITALY’S GOURMET PANTRY: Select Italy is an award-winning travel agency founded in 1997 specializing exclusively in travel to Italy. Recognizing that its clients have a hunger for tastes of Italy at home, this Italy expert has expanded into the specialty food market. Select Italy president and founder Andrea Sertoli says, “In the last twenty to thirty years, Americans have become increasingly sophisticated consumers of everything having to do with Italy. Select Italy is proud to add our Gourmet Pantry to the portfolio of services that we offer our clients. Now Italo-philes can enjoy Italy all the time!” Select Italy’s Gourmet Pantry acquires, markets, and distributes all the best of the Italian kitchen to home consumers, retail outlets and wholesalers. Products include Parmesan cheese, fine Italian olive oil, prepared foods & sauces, as well as ingenious kitchen gadgets. Services include consulting for retail outlets, restaurants, and Italy aficionados of all stripes. For more information on Select Italy's Gourmet Pantry contact Andrea Sertoli at 212-925-2417 or 917-400-0094 [by email at andrea@selectitaly.com] or Gisella Isidori at 847-912-8057 [by email at gisella@selectitaly.com].