Travel & Places

Etruscan Import is the first food operator that imports from one single area in Italy. (In the photo Natalie and Simone, Founders of Etruscan Imports)

When the world thinks of Italians at lunchtime, most of us picture a long table, a carafe of wine in the centre, multiple courses and a limoncello at the end just to really send us into a deep afternoon sleep. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? But, according to Mauro Sanna from Pausa Pranzo in Preston, the stereotype is outdated. (In the photo Mauro e Diana partners in business and in life)

According to a study published by Bloomberg, Spain and Italy are the healthiest countries on earth. Every year Bloomberg crunches numbers from the World Bank, the UN and the World Health Organization, to score in its Global Health Index the healthiest and unhealthiest countries in the world.

Chefs Silvia Colloca, Giovanni Pilu & Stefano Pingue in conversation with Daniele Curto

Chef Leo Gelsomino tells Jytte Holmqvist how he learned to master the mystical art of Sardinian pasta Su Filindeu.

The North Italian Gorgonzola cheese can be traced back to the 9th Century.

Our choices count and define who we are, even if they are the last ones we make. Daniele Curto has posed the following question to some members of the Italian community: If you could choose, what would you have for your last meal?

Barbecued, stir-fried or roasted, there’s no doubt that Aussies love their meat. Consuming on average nearly 100 kilograms of meat per person per year, Australians are among the top meat consumers worldwide.But with statistics showing that most Australians suffer from a poor diet, and red meat production is adding to greenhouse-gas emissions, finding a balance between taste preferences, environmental protection, and health benefits is becoming critical.

With the step into the 21st century the Australian food landscape has become widely diverse, with this vast nation’s food industry also heavily influenced by foreign values and trends – particularly in the urban areas.

As of 2019, Australia’s food industry was our largest employer, with over 2 million Australians employed in growing, moving, manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing and food service. (Photo: Alessandra D'Angelo with her son Sergio and her daughter Ambra)

Street food and the cultural openness to unfamiliar flavours.

Roberta Ingrosso, when she’s not at her desk or caring for her two young kids, can be found pouring over recipe books or experimenting in the kitchen. You could find her pondering how to reproduce authentic pettole while substituting wheat flour for spelt, or working out how to use the last vegetables in her weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box. (Roberta Ingrosso and Salvatore Rossano, Founders of Radical Puglia)

Since the 1500s, the Italians have developed an enviable coffee culture. A culture many other countries also enjoy today.

Sassy.x is a highly successful fusion-type restaurant. Modern and funky but still steeped in traditional Italian culinary traditions.

Barbecued, stir-fried or roasted, there’s no doubt that Aussies love their meat. Consuming on average nearly 100 kilograms of meat per person per year, Australians are among the top meat consumers worldwide.

From 18 to 24 November, the Embassy of Italy will be hosting the fourth edition of the “Week of the Extraordinary Italian Taste”, an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation that involves all the Italian institutions abroad.

For the past three months I feel I have walked a very special journey with Gradi Group. Johnny Di Francesco and his team were on a mission to find three talented nonni, with whom they could build the exclusive ‘Piatti dei Nonni’ menu. (Photo Johnny Di Francesco with nonna Elena and family)

‘Italians love to celebrate, it’s in our blood, life is a celebration. We have forgotten this in many ways; it is part of our rich inheritance to celebrate. When we sit with our families across the table, time stands still. It teaches us that this is where the heart of the table is’. International Sicilian chef, Carmela D’Amore speaks with Jenna Lo Bianco.

The history of ‘Italy’s best champagne’ is also the history of Cantina Ferrari in the Northern city of Trento. This company adventure started back in 1902 and has been paved with a number of remarkable stories of success. Two families, the Ferraris and the Lunellis, are entangled in an intriguing business relation that continues to produce outstanding results. Jesper Storgaard Jensen has been to Trento for Segmento to visit one of Italy’s most legendary cantinas. (Photos: Ferrari PR and Jesper Storgaard Jensen)

Ratings juggernaut MasterChef Australia is currently airing it’s eleventh season and has launched the careers of several contestants. But for every season’s Julie Goodwin, Poh Ling Yeow, Adam Liaw and Hayden Quinn, there are many talented chefs who disappear into post-reality TV obscurity, after failing to make an impression with viewers in such an over-saturated market.

Italy, rich with culture and home to countless culinary traditions, is the inspiration for several businesses that have recently flourished here in Australia.

Like Penelope Green in the famous novel "When in Rome", Michelle Di Pietro leaves everything, career, home, family and friends to chase the infamous Italian dream and finally live the "dolce vita". (Photo Courtesy of Michelle Di Pietro)

Arancini, olive all'ascolana, french fries. Then there’s hot dogs, turkey legs, falafel, kebab, tacos, burritos, empanadas and gyros. If the names in this glorious list are familiar to you, it means that you are a connoisseur and lover, let us imagine, of street food.

As the name suggests, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) manifests in behaviours that the affected person feels urged to execute, in order to release their anxiety. Common indications of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder include repetitive washing of hands, checking door locks, keeping inventories, and repeating mantras.

As I write this, the smell of raspberry swirl cake is wafting through the room, filling the house with a scent that is sweet, fruity, vanilla, and just plain heavenly. It’s everything you want to smell coming from your oven, and the anticipation is building.

Celebrity chef and media personality Guy Grossi is arguably Australia’s Godfather of Italian cuisine. Over 60 years ago, Grossi’s late father Pietro opened the first of a series of renowned Italian eateries that have shaped the gastronomical landscape of Melbourne.

First it was vegetarianism - which was trending for quite a few years - then came veganism - the ‘pure’ form of non-meat eating by virtue of the fact that it also excludes any product derived from an animal. By the year 2050, the world is likely to have a population of over 9.1 billion.

His cooking style is easily recognizable, healthy and with an explicit focus on the raw materials. For many years Niko Romito has been waiting behind the scenes. But now it's time to step up on the stage, into the spotlight. Segmento has spoken to Italy's allegedly best cook.

Life sometimes is more creative than your dreams. For sure Arnie Pizzini couldn’t even imagine what his father’s property would have become in time, but he had an intuition.

Several studies confirm that drinking wine in moderation benefits brain and its functions. In particular, it protects the brain from memory loss, dementia and cognitive decline.

Running a restaurant is like a performance, according to Luca Lorusso. There is a subject, a script, characters, costumes and a carefully designed scenography. There are critics. Like any production, the success (and longevity) of the production depends on the passion and dedication of its director.

The last time I was in Rome I stayed in Testaccio, as recommended by a Roman friend. You'll love it, she told me, and she was right.

Luisa Valmorbida is the current “Delegata” or president of the Melbourne branch of the Italian Academy of Cuisine, a role she took on more than 18 months ago. Raffaele Caputo interviewed her about the history of the Academy in Melbourne and her innovative ideas on how to enhance knowledge and appreciation of the Italian cuisine.

Traditionally in Italy, the craft of pizza making has been the domain of men. No wonder the Italian word “pizzaiolo” only exists in the masculine form. It’s a language practice that needs to be amended because a woman has finally broken into one of the last male bastions with brilliant results.

Five years ago I was diagnosed with an allergy to wheat: this was heartbreaking news. In a very short amount of time I had to re-train my brain to overlook the yeasty, crusty temptation, and seek guilty starchy pleasures in other forms; needless to say it took its toll. How ridiculous! – you might say. Take bread away from an Italian, however, and the situation gets serious.

Robert Dessanti is the director of the wine importer company “Euro Concepts” and parent consumer brand “The Wog with The Grog”. While the word ‘wog’ has lost the derogatory connotation it once had towards South Europeans and ‘grog’ it is a very Australian word used for alcohol.

It was in 1945 – the year that marked the end of World War II – when, in a small town of Romagna, a thirty-nine year old man called Attilio Babbi made a bet on himself. Italy was in ruins and, against all odds, he set to make cones for ice cream.

The first thing we should bear in mind when talking about the Italian Academy of Cuisine (Accademia Italiana della Cucina – a gastronomic association that began in Milan more than half a century ago, is the oddity of the name.

Every day at dawn, thirty-two year old Domenico De Marco gets on his racing bike and rides it through the beautiful parkland surrounding Hepburn Springs, a lovely country town famous for its mineral springs, 128 km north-west of Melbourne.

For the gluten-free folks out there craving a delicious and satisfying slice of pizza, look no further! World Pizza Champion Andrea Cozzolino shares his recipe for a truly authentic Neapolitan gluten free pizza.

Melbourne has many popular places to enjoy food and shop around but it also holds quite a few pleasant surprises for those who are prepared to venture in less known territory. The problem though, is identifying the places worth exploring.

We begin this overview of Italian wine with some numbers. In 2016, Italy conquered as the world leader in wine production. Estimated at around 50 million hectoliters, they overcame archrivals France and Spain: a triumph from many points of view.

Based in Epping, Arancini Art is a food company specialised in producing traditional Italian Arancini, Olive Ascolane (stuffed olives), and Supplì. It began from the idea of the Sicilian Riccardo Siligato and her wife Josanne, aiming to share their innate passion for the islander cuisine in Australia.

As the demand for Prosecco continues to grow in Australia, despite the news earlier this year of a shortage of supply in the UK due to its limited production in a geographically defined area in Northern Italy, we can expect that the tide will turn yet again for the popular Italian bubbles.

How is it that most Italians are in such great shape and fit though they live on delicious food unfailingly accompanied with wine? It is the not so secret Italian secret: eating genuine food (a far cry from fast and processed food) and being physically active.

That’s Amore Cheese Diavoletti has been crowned Champion Flavoured Cheese at the Australian Grand Dairy Awards, the Grand Final of dairy competitions in the country.

Since the dawn of time, human beings have been longing to live a long and healthy life, and to crack the mysterious recipe capable of boosting our lifespan and staving off death. The good news is that science has finally revealed a few secrets. The so-called Mediterrean diet, combined with genetic factors and lifestyle is the elixir of life so much craved for.

The words of America’s notorious chef could not sound more true in describing Giorgio Linguanti, Melbourne’s premier specialty cheese maker and proprietor of That’s Amore Cheese, That’s Amore Mozzarella Bar & La Latteria.

Andrea Cozzolino’s passion for the art of pizza making – and yes, it is quite an art – began in Naples during his school-age years. Andrea was just twelve years old. It all started quite modestly, working at a local family-run pizzeria, making simple pizzas, preparing ingredients and feeding the staff.

Life can be drenched of delightful surprises if you only have the will and tenacity to look for them. Moments of pleasure in fact lie around the corner so just be open-minded and explore! Which lately is exactly what I have been doing in order to uncover the best story to tell you and make you happy.

Until a few years ago, those who were constricted to a gluten-free diet because of their coeliac disease had very little choice. For a long time, bread, pizza and pasta were just distant memories. In the best case, coeliac people had to settle for gluten-free products that were really far from the organoleptic and mechanical characteristics of their gluten counterparts.

In recent years there has been an increase in nutritional awareness with many people now following certain diets and food-based lifestyles. This has forced restaurant owners and food manufacturers to meet an ever-increasing demand for products dedicated to specific dietary requirements.

The intention of this article is to bring attention to something that, in my humble opinion, is the most important, enduring aspect of the human experience: true friendship. That combination of unconditional love and affection that, according to an old Swedish proverb, doubles a joy and halves a sorrow.

There’s been a lot of hype about him, but Johnny Di Francesco’s is not a rags to riches story. Rather, it is a straightforward ‘work hard and make your own luck’ type of tale. According to him, achieving your goals depends on working hard and smart, consistently and persistently. Johnny’s level of success is something special, though.

Today I am telling you the story of Katia and Sabrina, two inseparable sisters and highly skilled cheese makers that moved to Melbourne a couple of years ago to become heart and soul of La Formaggeria, a little artisan cheese shop placed in St Kilda.

The only gospel for a Neapolitan pizzaiolo is to knead by tradition- al methods! The recent visit of the “TRUE NEAPOLITAN PIZZA ASSOCIATION” (AVPN) in Melbourne opened my eyes to the fabulous life of expert pizza masters who ‘travel the world, spreading the word’.

Allow me to begin by saying a mea culpa! When I discovered that seven of the most influential Melbourne based Italian-Australian businessmen owning their own olive groves, were gathering to compete for the “Grande Olio d’Oliva 2015”, the first thing that came to mind was the provocative aforism of Frank Capra: “The amateurs are playing for fun when the weather is nice…”.

Marana Forni Ovens are Made in Italy to the highest of standards, from design to craftsmanship production of every single part.

On October 11, The Melbourne Royal Exhibition hosted the Vinitalia Food & Wine Festival, the largest display of Italian wines ever held in Australia.

Coffee is a peculiar hallmark of being Italian. A habit, a real ritual that gives the opportunity to socialize, have a chat in lightness, nice break at work and in free time.A tradition so ingrained is to be a true icon of Italian lifestyle.

When I first visited Il Melograno, an extremely cosy café and ice cream parlor located in Northcote, I was suddenly struck by the beauty of the place: its nature-inspired design made of wood and earth colors, the smiling faces of the staff, the cabinets full of delicious pastries, everything conveys a warm and friendly atmosphere with light aromatic notes of sugar and coffe.

A new way to enjoy fine Italian wines by the glass. Andrew De Angelis is the founder of TAP., a brand of “wine on tap” promoting a new concept to serve fine wines by the glass.

LA SOPHIA LOREN - There are a number of reasons for my choice of ingredients for the Sophia Loren pizza.