- The International Cheese Promotion Project highlights the best cheeses from the country – which is one of the biggest exporters to the UK
Italian Trade Agency
ITA - Italian Trade Agency is the Governmental agency that supports the business development of our companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investment in Italy. With a motivated and modern organization and a widespread network of overseas offices, ITA provides information, assistance, consulting, promotion and training to Italian small and medium-sized businesses.
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The Italian Trade Agency (the Governmental agency that supports the internationalisation of Italian SMEs abroad) together with the main PDO cheese consortia and the sector association ‘Assolatte’, launched the International Cheese Promotion Project in the UK at the beginning of 2023.
Italy is a key supplier and trading partner for the UK when it comes to cheese. The latest data sourced from ‘UK Trade Data Info’ reveals that in 2022 Italy was the main supplier of cheese to the UK, exporting over 287 million pounds of cheese and curd, with a substantial 32.77% increase compared to 2019.
The focus of the project is to promote and strengthen the knowledge and understanding of the extensive selection of cheeses Italy has to offer, both PDO protected and not. The cheeses showcased in the promotional project are the following: PDO - Asiago, Grana Padano, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella di Bufala, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Pecorino Toscano, Provolone Valpadana, Taleggio, as well as Burrata, Mascarpone and Ricotta.
To better promote and display the cheeses to their full potential, three known Italian chefs based in the UK were brought on board, with the aim to share and reveal secrets and tips in some of their most famous Italian cheese-based recipes. The delicious recipes kindly shared by Rosario Sartore, Maurizio Bocchi and Diego Ferrari are all available here. You’ll find the following delicacies: Gorgonzola Risotto, Celeriac Cacio e Pepe, Taleggio Tortelloni, Mozzarella di Bufala with chargrilled Octopus, and Ricotta Lemon-Sole fillet. If you want something tasty and simple to begin with, check out the video recipe for this lovely Burrata Semifreddo!
At the beginning of this month, ITA hosted eight cheese masterclasses in Stafford at the Love Cheese Live festival where the team was (unsurprisingly) met with great success and feedback from guests and visitors, not only for the more well-known cheeses such as Asiago, Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano and Taleggio, but also for Pecorino Romano and Pecorino Toscano and Provolone Valpadana. While they may be currently less wide-spread in the UK, these masterclasses supplied a lot of key product and historical information which visibly left the participants wanting to know more.
In the coming weeks, the Italian Trade Agency London Office will head to both Scotland and Lancashire to carry out in-store promotions including tastings, cooking demonstrations and much more, to give visitors a comprehensive experience while savouring a range of Italian cheeses.
Stay tuned for the future projects that the Italian Trade Agency London Office will embark via its social media platforms: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin
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