This article is by Seo Ji-eun and read by an artificial voice.



Seoul's ambassadors are often gastronomes keen to share a taste of their home cuisine. In this series, the Korea JoongAng Daily asks the diplomatic corps to introduce our readers to their favorite restaurants representing cuisine from their homelands, while chatting about issues of interest to our Korean and global audience. - Ed.

While pizza and pasta may be ubiquitous, much of what the world eats as "Italian style" strays far from the real deal, says Italian Ambassador to Seoul Emilia Gatto.

"As Italian cuisine is so well known everywhere in the world, there are many fakes or reinterpretations - which is OK - but are represented as authentic Italian cuisine, putting names that resonate as Italian but are not Italian," Gatto said during a recent interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at an Italian restaurant in southern Seoul. "Many people are willing to pay more, believing it's authentic. For us it's a huge challenge."

From the proper way to twirl pasta to the playful gesture of pinching one's cheek to say "che buono!" after a delicious meal, Gatto sees cuisine not only as something delicious but as a symbol of Italian identity, a form of soft power that reflects centuries of family heritage, craftsmanship and biodiversity.

To globalize that "Italian way," every November, Italian embassies and consulates around the globe celebrate the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World under the initiative of its Foreign Ministry. In Seoul, the Italian Embassy is joining the event from Nov. 17, with a special focus on cheese.

Amidst a plethora of Italian restaurants in Seoul, some more authentic than others, Gatto sat with the reporter at the Cornerstone, located in the ritzy Park Hyatt Seoul in Gangnam District on Nov. 5. The chef at the hotel also serves as the official chef of the ambassador's residence and for the embassy's national events.

Gatto occasionally slipped into Korean during the interview. She used to study the language on her own - watching YouTube videos and using Duolingo - but recently began lessons with a private tutor. Her National Day speech this year, carefully delivered entirely in Korean, drew warm praise from Korean guests.

"Korean people are so warm when you try to make the effort - it's so rewarding," Gatto said. "I've always had a strong belief in my life, and strongly agree with what Nelson Mandela said," she said, referencing his quote: "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."

Below are edited excerpts from the interview, edited for length and clarity.



It's an important initiative launched by our Foreign Ministry, which also oversees our Trade Agency, which is like a second embassy for trade. We handle a lot of international cultural diplomacy; we manage and promote Italy's soft power. Each embassy adapts the program to its country.

In Korea, it's easy to promote Italian food because Koreans already love it - and we appreciate that. Koreans have very high taste standards; your cuisine is amazing, high level, sharing our values: good products, family traditions, attention to quality and health and the culture of eating together.

We also fight against the phenomenon of Italian-sounding - fakes or reinterpretations presented as authentic Italian cuisine.

One of the goals for the Italian Cuisine Week is to promote Italian cuisine as a Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage. What are some features of Italian cuisine that make it eligible for this recognition?

Well, some parts already are. For example, the Mediterranean diet - which Italian is - is Unesco Heritage, as well as the art of making pizza. But now we're promoting the concept of Italian cuisine as a cultural and social practice based on quality, family and conviviality.

Food is a social habit. We gather together for meals: It's something that makes us happier, benefits our psychological well-b...