The Week of Italian Cuisine in the World returns for its tenth edition in 2025, reaffirming its role as one of the most comprehensive global initiatives promoting Italy’s food and wine heritage. Since its creation in 2016, following the themes introduced at Expo Milano 2015, it has helped outline a recognizable narrative of the Italian agri-food sector abroad, centered on quality, sustainability, biodiversity and culinary identity. In ten years, the program has fostered more than ten thousand events in over one hundred countries.
This year’s theme — “Italian cuisine between culture, health and innovation” — frames gastronomy as a space where long-standing practices evolve through research and technological development. The Italian culinary model remains stable even as it adapts to contemporary needs.
New York offers a particularly relevant context for this theme. The city has one of the largest and most active communities of Italian restaurateurs, bakers and chefs abroad, many of whom have become established landmarks for residents and visitors. Their contribution shapes how Italian cuisine is understood internationally, sometimes more effectively than official promotional campaigns.
In this environment, the Week of Italian Cuisine becomes a moment to recognize the professional network that upholds the reputation of Italian food throughout the year. From small family-run restaurants to experimental kitchens, the city reflects the coexistence of tradition and innovation — the same dynamic that underpins Italy’s UNESCO candidacy for intangible cultural heritage status.
The 2025 New York edition includes a video featuring around thirty chefs, bakers and restaurateurs. Through short scenes of kitchen work and everyday gestures, it emphasizes the idea that “food is not only nourishment but also culture and tradition.” These individuals represent only part of the community that keeps Italian culinary identity visible and appreciated in New York.
A recurring theme in the Week’s programs — the protection of authenticity in recipes and ingredients — remains particularly relevant in the United States. The prevalence of Italian sounding products continues to be a challenge, prompting collaborations among restaurateurs, producers, institutions and associations to promote certified goods and protected denominations.
The program also highlights Italian cuisine as a model for healthy and sustainable eating. In recent years, interest in Mediterranean diets has grown across the United States, with Italian communities playing a central role in spreading its principles.
Alongside cultural aspects, innovation remains a key focus: research on raw materials, improved processing techniques, new distribution systems and waste-reduction strategies. These components form the core of the promotional work coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and carried out abroad through embassies, consulates and local partners.