Chefs unite to help Italy

torontosun.com
By Rita DeMontis
Aug. 31, 2016

Chefs worldwide have banded together to help victims of the recent Italian earthquake - by creating Pasta all’Amatriciana, the famous recipe that was going to be celebrated in the town of Amatrice, for which the dish is named.

The town was one of the worst hit, with most of the victims coming from there. Reporter Vanessa Gera for AP recently reported that “residents in the medieval hilltop town had been preparing to host a yearly food festival dedicated to the dish. Altogether, three towns were devastated, with 278 people killed, 218 of them in Amatrice.”

The simple, yet rich, smoky rustic dish - made with guanciale, or pork jowl, tomatoes, chili peppers and pecorino cheese (purists will tell you there’s no garlic or onion, but many chefs still add these flavours) - is simplicity itself, but has now become a symbol of hope, with a groundswell of support involving everyone from food bloggers to famous chefs worldwide.

According to the Associated Press, British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver said on Facebook recently that he and 700 chefs at his Jamie’s Italian UK restaurants, an international chain, will be serving up the pasta and donating a portion of the proceeds per dish sold to help the rescue effort in Italy.

Oliver told his Instagram followers that “this could really make a difference,” and that money will go to firefighters, camps, food, clothing and medical assistance.”

Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food International, has also called on restaurateurs worldwide “to put the symbolic dish of this devastated town on their menus.”

Here in Toronto, the movement has taken on a life of its own, with many well-known chefs immediately rising to the challenge and featuring the dish on their menus to help out.

Toronto communication specialist and food blogger Neil Faba started a social media campaign with a Facebook page dedicated solely to this initiative. #AmatricianaTO came about because of Faba’s association with Italy: “My Dad grew up in Italy, not far from where the earthquake hit on Aug. 24, so I felt a personal connection to the tragedy,” said Faba, adding “I’m just a ‘regular guy’ who works in communications, and also a food blogger and food lover. So when I heard stories of the movement of restaurants serving Amatriciana and donating a portion of proceeds that started in Italy and quickly spread around the world, I knew Toronto’s amazing restaurant community could do something great.”

And they have. Faba connected with the restaurant community and “everyone came on board without hesitation,” said Faba. “Several restaurants told me they were already planning to do something similar on their own, and recognized that a city-wide initiative would be more powerful.

“So we organized under #AmatricianaTO to raise money for the Canadian Red Cross Italy Earthquake Appeal. Designer Dana Harrison of Wellpreserved.ca donated her time to create the graphic to symbolize the local movement.”

Restaurants include Chef Rob Gentile’s Buca (Bar Buca, Buca King, Buca Yorkville) There’s also Campagnolo, Jacobs & Co., Steakhouse, 7 numbers and Tutti Matti. For the month of September, when you see this dish on their menus, a portion of the proceeds will go to the Italy Earthquake Relief efforts.

And don’t be surprised to hear more restaurants coming on board. Just recently Toronto CITY-TV’s BT and CityLine personality Frank Ferragine had award-winning executive chef Domenic Chiaromonte on the morning show to talk about tomato preserves, when the idea of presenting this famous dish on Domenic’s menus was born. You’ll find it on both Chiaro Ristorante (Chiaroristorante.com) and Motorino Enoteca (Motorinoenoteca.com) both in Vaughan, with a portion of the proceeds going to the fund.

“It’s the right thing to do,” said Chiaromonte. “We’re hoping many other restaurants consider this.”

Food is certainly the great equalizer, especially when tragedy hits.

Our chefs are a wonderful example of coming together all for a great cause, and a great dish that looks to go down in history as having fed the heart and the soul, too.
•Check out Facebook.com/AmatricianaTO/ or #AmatricianaTO on Twitter.

EARTHQUAKE FUNDRAISER: The Italian quake continues to reverberate throughout the world, touching many who have reached out to ask - what can we do?

Bolton’s Maria Cossetti-Iamundo who lost five members of her immediate family when the 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit has decided to organize a special dinner, with proceeds going to the Italian Red Cross. “The earthquake took so much on so many levels,” said Cossetti-Iamundo in an earlier interview. “We need to stay united to help wherever we can.”

The Earthquake Fundraiser Dinner is Sept. 9 at the Fontana Primavera Event Centre on 77 Woodstream Blvd. The $100 tickets include a reception, dinner, entertainment with all proceeds going to the victims ($60 for children under 12).

For info, contact Fontana Primavera at 905-265-8100 or Tony Zingaro at 416-587-3555.