The School of Hospitality Hosts Delegates from Italian Hospitality and Culinary Institutes

Recently, two Italian Hospitality and Culinary Art Institutes: Istituto Francesco Datini and Istituto Aldo Moro, from Tuscany and Apuila, respectively travelled all the way to Kuala Lumpur to visit the School of Hospitality, Sunway University. The visit aims to share teaching methodologies and discuss future collaborative relationships.

During the visit, the student delegates from both the institutions also expressed one important common denominator concerning the gastronomic relationship between Malaysia and Italy – RICE! Italy is also known as “Europe’s Rice Paddy”, where rice cultivation is mostly concentrated in Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto. Whilst local Malaysian rice is eaten plain and accompanied with other dishes, Italian rice dishes tyically comprises risotto and rice puddings.

The Istituto Aldo Moro also shared with everyone the traditional recipe of Salento cuisine – octopus pignata with potatoes, which is commonly served with toasted bread. Salento is a region in Southeast Italy, where fish and vegetables are common food source. This video also highlighted on how food can be plated as a fine-dining dish, without losing its traditional element. Another common topic that was shared during the discussion is the focus on healthy food, being a mainstream focus of the food & beverage industry.

Professor Marcus Stephenson, Dean of the School of Hospitality, comments:

“We were delighted to be given the opportunity to connect with such institutes. We share the fact that we all focus on a detailed and nuanced approach to teaching and learning, and also take experiential learning very seriously. Moreover, Italian cuisine is a very strong globalised and transnational brand, so obviously it was productive to understand how this brand identity is contantly being reproduced”.

The delegation finalised their visit to the School with lunch at the Athanor, where Chef Khairil Anwar Ahmad, Executive Chef of the Athanor and Teaching Fellow, as well as a renowned specialist in Malaysian cuisine, produced a petite spicy roquette risotto for each guest – utilising a range of spices from South-East Asia.