11th Annual Week of Italian Cuisine in the World
SLOW FOOD: A LEGACY OF FLAVOR, A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Wednesday, November 18, 2026 | 6:00 PM (Doors open at 5:30 PM)
Italian Cultural Institute
710 Sansome Street, San Francisco
REGISTRATION LINK COMING SOON
The Week of Italian Cuisine in the World is an initiative conceived by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to promote Italian culinary traditions internationally and foster knowledge of Italy’s food and wine culture as a distinctive expression of the country’s identity and heritage.
This year, the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World celebrates its eleventh edition with particular significance, as it is the first edition following the recognition of Italian Cuisine as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The central theme of the 2026 edition is Italian Cuisine, a UNESCO Heritage: Territories and Excellence Across the Supply Chain. The initiative aims to showcase Italian cuisine as a cultural heritage deeply rooted in local territories, highlighting regional products and the places where Italy’s culinary and gastronomic traditions originate.
The Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco, in collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, will celebrate the 11th edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World with a panel discussion tracing the history of the Slow Food movement from its founding to the present day. In tribute to Carlo Petrini’s legacy, the discussion will highlight Alice Waters’ significant contribution to the development of the movement in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the United States. It will also look to the future, exploring the new opportunities and challenges facing the movement.
The event will conclude with the screening of the short video Landscapes of Italy: A Journey Through Natural Heritage and Flavors – Castel del Monte and the Alta Murgia National Park.
PANELISTS
Omar Mamoon | Food Writer, Panel Moderator (@ommmar)
Lorenzo Scarpone | Italian wine importer, founder of the first Slow Food Chapter in the Bay Area
Shakirah Simley | Writer, community developer and policy strategist, alumna of the University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG)
Maria Zizka | James Beard Award-nominated and New York Times bestselling cookbook author, alumna of the University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG)
A representative of the Slow Food organization will also join the panel.