The Crossroads project, carried out by the Region of Lombardy, the Union of Lombard Chambers of Commerce and the Consortium for the Protection of Grana Padano Cheese, is to blend and bridge two different culinary cultures, both rich and rooted in their own countries: the Chinese one and the Lombard one, through the creation of Sino-Lombard recipes. Those new recipes represent a breakthrough by well combining Lombard raw material of food and Chinese traditional cooking skill.

Chinese Culinary enjoys a profound and long history, as Italy is famous for its culinary art and tradition. Lombard cheeses, wines, cured meats and extra virgin olive oil, are part of Italy’s gastronomic tradition and are renowned worldwide. We expect Chinese to get more acquainted with Italian food through this event. Meanwhile, Italian and Europeans will continue to love Chinese dishes, says Ms. Giuliana Cornelio, Chief Executive of the Region of Lombardy.

The realization of this project was commissioned to Chef Giancarlo Piccarreta of ICIF (International Culinary Institute for Foreigners), a worldwide cooking school present in Shanghai, who supervised the work of 8 Chinese cooks from different regions of Mainland China. The result is an assortment of 40 Sino-Italian recipes and a perfect blend of Lombard ingredients with Oriental flavors.

In this “West Meets East” new recipe book, Grana Padano Cheese resulted particularly versatile and capable of enhancing the flavour of many Chinese recipes. The production of Grana Padano cheese can be dated back to the 1100’s. “Grana Padano, together with oriental flavours, match perfectly and create a brand new taste“ said Mr. Cesare Baldrighi, President of the Consortium for the Protection of Grana Padano Cheese. “We hope that this kind of fusion will get recognition of fine-food-lover all over the world.“

“In today’s world, different cultures and economies get in touch much more than in the past“ , Mr. Ercole Montanari, Vice President of the Union of Lombard Chambers of Commerce says. “China is very well known in Italy and we are now bringing Italian food excellences here. I believe we can all benefit from this encounter“.

This event will serve as a platform for both parties to exchange view on culinary. Meanwhile, La Scala, one of the top three opera theaters in the world which enjoying 230-year history, is coming all the way to present guests in Beijing the Italian traditional performances.

The official website for Crossroads is now available to the public. For more information about Crossroads Project and the Region of Lombardy, please find our website: http//www.italia-crossroads.com