Lidia Bastianich, author and host of several highly successful TV shows, named “Best Chef in New York” by the prestigious James Beard Foundation and “The First Lady of Italian cuisine and restaurants in the United States,” presented her latest book of recipes inspired by her travels in Calabria on January 25 at the The New York Times Travel Show held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan.
“A true journey of taste, that is what Lidia Bastianich describes on her tour through Calabria,” declared the Region’s President, Oliverio. “Lidia really knew how to capture the essence of our land, which has stayed outside the major tourism routes for a long time, preserving its values, customs and flavors. The New York Times Travel Show is a moment of great visibility for our region,” President Oliverio added, “an opportunity that we’ve chosen to take, along with other important events in New York and beyond, in order to promote Calabria throughout the world.
We’ve been working since the beginning of our term to create a synergetic system between our cultural resources, tourist offerings, Calabria’s hospitality with its ancient flavors, placed in the hands of a generation of young chefs who attract the attention of distinguished influencers and journalists, charmed by the lure of this part of Italy which still has so much to reveal.”
This is a very specific strategy carried forth by the Tourism Department and the Internationalization Sector under the leadership of President Mario Oliverio, which is giving concrete feedback, considering the significant results achieved by the tourism sector. Since 2015, Calabria saw an increase in the presence of tourists, which hit record numbers in 2017 and 2018, and international flights connecting Calabria with foreign cities went from 8 in 2014 to 36 in the summer of 2018. Furthermore, the Regional Council approved a law in favor of charters to boost Tour Operators’ tour packages.
For the third consecutive year, Lidia Bastianich is the supreme spokesperson for Calabria, able to galvanize the attention of the press and stakeholders who matter during the event at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. Alongside her to represent Calabrian chefs is Nino Rossi, who recently received a Michelin star.
There is a strategy surrounding them to promote Calabria’s exceptional qualities, an effective plan of internationalization through the “Rosso Calabria” brand, created to protect and promote the land’s exceptional offerings.
Ms. Bastianich, world-renowned icon of Italian cuisine whose TV shows have a following of more than 196 million spectators on all continents, has established a deep bond with Calabria.
In June 2018, she also took part in the works of the 1st International Meeting on the Mediterranean Diet, during which the Regional Observatory on the Mediterranean Diet was established, and the law was presented on the “Development of the Italian Mediterranean Diet of Nicotera,” approved by the Regional Council on the proposal of regional councilors, Orlandino Greco and Michele Mirabello, to safeguard and develop the lifestyle tied to this type of diet.