S.Pellegrino and Italian Sparkling Drinks at Identità Golose 2022

From 21 to 23 April, Milan hosted Identità Golose 2022, one of the most important International Forums for top chefs and pastry cooks, now in its 17th edition.  Sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, this year’s event addressed a particularly significant topic: the future is now. A very topical theme around which the chefs, pastry chefs, bartenders and other protagonists of the event developed their activities. 

The focal point of the forum provided numerous cues for testing innovative solutions and enabling young talents to put themselves to the test. 

An aspect that is particularly dear to S.Pellegrino, which took this opportunity to renew the company's commitment to new talents of the culinary scene and to present the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy, the international project offering future chefs from all over the world the possibility to be part of a global network and an ongoing training programme that is one-of-a-kind, culminating in the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition, the contest open to chefs and sous-chefs aged under 30 who are invited to enrol before 30 June 2022 at www.sanpellegrinoyoungchefacademy.com. 

The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy was the undisputed star of the event on several occasions: in fact, during the 17th edition of Identità Golose, the names of the great chefs making up the Italian jury of the 5th edition of the competition were announced. They are Andrea Aprea, Donato Ascani, Giuseppe Iannotti, Viviana Varese and Jessica Rosval, a dream team of five great Italian protagonists of fine dining, chosen for their experience and background.

The future is now: the stars of Identità Golose 2022

Numerous international guests made an appearance at Identità Golose 2022. The event got off to a great start on Thursday 21 April, with Eneko Atxa, chef of Azurmendi, awarded three Michelin stars in Larrabetzu in the Basque Country, who drew the forum's attention to the sustainable and ecological aspects of the restaurant business.  

On Saturday 23 April, much interest was aroused by Peruvians Pìa Leon (chef of Kjolle) and Virgilio Martinez (chef of the Central), who are engaged in promoting the biodiversity of a country that believes in food culture, in the recovery of authentic flavours and sustainability. On the stage of Identità Golose 2022 the two chefs explained their personal food philosophy, which pivots around the biodiversity of the region they come from.  

On Saturday, it was also the turn of Italian chef Massimo Bottura, who cooked the symbolic dish of the 2022 edition of Identità Golose, an original spaghetti dish that turns into a dessert called Image and likeness - there will always be a future in my future. "The future is knowledge, awareness and responsibility, towards ourselves, towards others and towards the Planet", the chef stated in his talk to the forum.

Follow the talent: an experience presenting the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy

To present its own vision, S.Pellegrino welcomed Identità Golose 2022 visitors inside an exhibition space specifically set up for the forum and dedicated to the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy project. With an installation entitled “Follow the talent” S.Pellegrino set out to amaze visitors and arouse their curiosity sufficiently to follow the talent. Flavour was also star of the show for three days with a series of special menus for S.Pellegrino guests. First up was Antonio Romano (Italian winner of the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award 2019), followed by Davide Marzullo (Italian winner of the S.Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility 2019) and finally Alessandro Bergamo (Italian winner of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2019). Each meal was made even more special by the delicate perlage of S.Pellegrino and the unmistakable taste of Acqua Panna.

The cocktails and stars of Sanpellegrino Italian Sparkling Drinks

On the Sanpellegrino Italian Sparkling Drinks stand, there was also a drinks list curated by Nonsolococktails by Mattia Pastori, Sanpellegrino Mixology Expert. Here, on each day of the forum, bartenders took turns to describe the cocktails they have created based on Sanpellegrino Italian Sparkling Drinks. From Luca Angeli of the Four Seasons Milano to Samuele Lissoni of Kanpai in Milan, Ilaria Bello of Talea located at Torvaianica (Rome) and Jonatan Abarbanel of Les Rouges, also in Milan. Then there were Carlo Simbula of the Bioesserì Group in Milan and Martina Bonci from Gucci Garden Firenze. Finally, during the forum, Masterclasses were held by Sanpellegrino Italian Sparkling Drinks and Perrier.

All we can do now is look forward to the Grand Finale of the 2022-2023 edition of S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition, which is still open for entries.  A unique opportunity for young chefs to acquire visibility and prestige and to compete for the title of World's Best Young Chef.  

Find out more, read the competition rules and enrol by clicking here.