From 7 to 13 May, Milan Food City returns: a week of events, meetings and initiatives open to everyone, dedicated to food, nutrition, fair distribution and the entire food supply chain. Here are the main dates in the calendar.
Food returns as the absolute protagonist in the second edition of Milan Food City, scheduled from 7 to 13 May, with a calendar of over 400 events spread across the city centre and its outlying neighbourhoods. Promoted by the Municipality of Milan, the event held its zero edition last year, born in the wake of Expo 2015, with the aim of turning Milan into a national and international point of reference for debate on the themes of nutrition and sustainability in the agri-food sector. An effort that also responds to the Sustainable Development Goals launched by the United Nations, which countries have committed to achieving by 2030.
Seven keywords have been chosen to mark and define the 2018 edition of this major event: taste, encounter, energy, diversity, nutrition, resource and play. These are useful tools for giving fresh impetus to the theme of food education, and they are expressed here through many concrete moments of in-depth discussion, meetings and conviviality.
Enlivening the city's squares, buildings, restaurants, venues and parks will be workshops, debates, shows, performances, thematic itineraries and laboratories open to adults and children, schools and families, in the spirit of maximum inclusion and sharing.
The "gateway" to the event this year will be Milan's Central Station, which will host a dedicated installation providing all the information needed to navigate the many appointments of Milan Food City.
Among the events on the Milan Food City programme is the fourth edition of Seeds and Chips, a major summit dedicated to food innovation at a global level, to be held at MiCo, Milano Congressi, from 7 to 10 May 2018, and of which LifeGate is a media partner, thanks to Lavazza Alteco. Following the great success of last year, which saw former United States president Barack Obama participate as a speaker, numerous international guests will come together to discuss topics related to the distribution of food resources, the reduction of waste, and the future of agriculture and large-scale retail. Among the most anticipated speakers is also former US Secretary of State John Kerry, one of the principal promoters of the Paris Agreement.
Milan Food City was opened on 7 May at 12.30 by the Convivial Inauguration – Le 7 Virtù del Cibo in the courtyard of Palazzo Bovara (Circolo del Commercio corso Venezia, 51): an anti-waste showcooking event in which three teams competed – MasterChef-style – in preparing traditional "heritage dishes" using the ingredients from a Mystery box. Leading the teams were the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Confcommercio Milano Carlo Sangalli, the Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala and the president of the Lombardy Region Attilio Fontana, accompanied by Michelin-starred chefs and a super jury presided over by Carlo Cracco.
Driving the event is the desire to reaffirm Milan's key role in the fair and virtuous distribution of food to the community. In this spirit sits the major solidarity initiative #piusiamopiudoniamo, the opening celebration of Milan's "food fair", which will get under way on 7 May at 6.00 pm in Piazza XXV Aprile, in the presence of Mayor Giuseppe Sala and the Archbishop of Milan, Mons. Mario Delpini. Already on the programme last year, this initiative made it possible to collect as many as 7 tonnes of food (donated by the companies involved) in favour of Banco Alimentare, Caritas Ambrosiana and Pane Quotidiano, representing all the organisations in the city that take responsibility for collecting and distributing food. The mechanism is simple and fun: citizens will be invited to weigh themselves on large scales placed at various points around the city, from Piazza Castello to Gratosoglio, passing through Via Mercanti and certain locations of the large organised retail chains partnering the initiative (Carrefour Italia, Conad, Coop, Gruppo Vegé). The combined weight of all participants will be converted into quantities of food to be donated to those most in need.
Piazza XXV Aprile will also be the stage for another important event, which we will also cover live: #MicaSpreco: la michetta sostenibile. Milan's bread roll par excellence will be the protagonist – throughout the entire week of Milan Food City – of the initiative promoted by Sky Ocean Rescue (a campaign against plastic in the oceans), which will show how even the packaging of the food we consume ends up in our seas. An alarm sounded by 8 million tonnes of plastic that every year kills thousands of animals, undermining the health of the entire ecosystem and to which it is possible to respond concretely and individually with more responsible, "Ocean Hero" behaviour.
The Milan food week will also host the first leg of the Festa del Bio 2018: an event promoted by FederBio to inform consumers about the real difference between a certified organic product and a conventional one, and to encourage its consumption, in respect of the environment and biodiversity. A fully-fledged festival that will get under way on 12 May 2018, from 10 am to 7 pm, in Via dei Mercanti, a stone's throw from Piazza del Duomo, and which will then continue with a tour of five other major Italian cities, where it will bring together businesses, consumers, adults and children in a shared exchange of informative and recreational activities.
Food as a privileged means of transmitting cultural identity. This is the conviction underlying the Mammamiaaa project, born in the context of Matera 2019 (which will see the city serve as European Capital of Culture) and whose aim is to hold 10,000 dinners across Europe, in the homes of as many families, in order to collect and share 10,000 traditional recipes. A simple format that involves friends and relatives, but also "two unknown guests". The result will also become an environmental installation of 10,000 plates, depicting the dishes and stories collected along the way, which will be placed within the Lucanian landscape. The Milanese food week was chosen to launch the initiative, and will host the press conference presentation and the first two dinners on the evenings of Thursday 10 and Friday 11 May. On the website www.mammamiaaa.it it is possible to sign up for the newsletter to receive project updates and put yourself forward to host one of the 10,000 dinners. To take part in the Milan dinners, send an email to [email protected]
There are also a great many events dedicated to families and schools, who will find the Campagna Amica farmers' market waiting for them in Piazza Castello, where they can meet Lombard agri-chefs, discover the world of educational farms and explore the best of Italian agri-food production. Also in Piazza Castello will be the Latte Days, with recreational-informational activities and guided tastings organised by local producers and experts, to raise awareness among adults and children about the consumption of milk and dairy products.
Also designed for students and families are the many educational initiatives organised by Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, which promotes recreational activities, workshops and meetings aimed at prevention and the accurate dissemination of scientific knowledge. Throughout the week it will be possible to visit the exhibition Io vivo sano, alimentazione e dna, staged at Palazzo Giureconsulti, which will allow visitors to understand the relationship between what we eat and our DNA.
There are truly numerous events celebrating conviviality promoted by Milan Food City. To get the tour of Milan Food City off to the best possible start, the ideal place to begin is Palazzo Bovara, in corso Venezia 51, where the morning welcome comes from the coffee masters' breakfasts with Coffee & the City, followed by aperitifs and showcooking sessions from Gusto&Socialità.
Throughout the week, the Giardini Indro Montanelli will host (from 10am to 9pm) the village Lo street food made in Italy: a sort of gastronomic journey through the finest street food, told by its protagonists. Street food will also take centre stage in piazza XXV Aprile with the Food&Joy initiative, featuring plenty of recipes to try and discover. Those who love gourmet aperitifs will certainly appreciate Sky&Jazz: a series of happy hours accompanied by refined music, organised on some of Milan's most beautiful terraces.
A packed calendar, waiting to be discovered and experienced (the full list of events is available at www.milanofoodcity.it), all under the banner of good food and an ever-growing awareness of a fundamental issue that truly brings everyone together.