Expo 2015 New Food Ideas

Since its'  earliest days  World Expositions have been introducing people to new foods and ideas. After all potato chips, the hot dog and the ice cream cone were introduced at  expos past. Its' not surprising that the Milan 2015 has introduced some new dishes and concepts too.


Rachel Dondadio covered it and wrote about it for The New York Times Food section yesterday, She was able to travel to this beautiful gem of a city and sample some of the foods offered. The expo itself is a strange mix of cuisine and sustainability. Vertical gardens vied with restaurants for attention and visitors. The US had one of the former with kale and other veggies sprouting at a dizzying angle and being watered with drip irrigation. With the Americans comes the James Beard American Restaurant which is located at the Seven Stars Galleria in the city. A dazzling array of chefs cook there, and the dishes are made by Mary Sue Millikin of L.A.'s Border Grill, Sarah Jenkins  of New York's famed Porchetta and Paul Qui of Qui's in Austen Texas. The food is traditional American but not the usual barbecue and hot dogs. Every Thursday there is a Thanksgiving themed meal and there is an explanation of some American foods by Libby O'Connell of the History Channel. She tells of the history of the American diet, from the colonists' love of roast beaver tails (true!, they were rich in fat and protein - and I imagine crispy- the fore runner of pork rinds) to our passion for pizza - that came from GIs who had been stationed in Naples during the Second World war.

Mostly Expo 2015 is educational. The United Nations Pavilion Zero  has  a huge wall of monitors showing the changing prices of such foodstuffs as canola, papaya, beef and potatoes. The UK has a pavilion in the shape of a hive  to give visitors a honeybee's view of the world. Not only can tourists eat ancient grains in a variety of forms like pasta and pizza they can also learn about them too. There's also music there too, from techno to hip hop.Women and food is also explored thanks to a series of lectures about diet and nutrition. Since the Expo is also about sustainability there are several exhibits catering to this. Not only are there the vertical gardens by both the US and Israel there are also programs featuring the African Milk Project and Italy's Food Repurposing Project This last is reusing extra food into dishes  at schools  and eliminating large amounts of food waste. If you can ' t     make it to the expo, then go to the website , There are tons of recipes (in Italian) from every country on Earth and feature  everything from grains to meats and fruits and veggies along with chocolate.

Milan's Expo 2015 is an interesting marriage of saving and feeding the planet. It combines old and new cuisines as well as methods for repurposing food. It is an exposition that will enlighten foodies and environmentalists alike.

Keeping Italian Traditions

Even traditional Italian food is under the threat of extinction.Younger generations are following trendy food shows and neglecting their family and regional dishes,However thanks to an unlikely savior piatti classic won"t disappear all that soon. Rachel Donadio interviewed this angel of sorts in today's Dining section in today's Wednesday's New York Times.The angel is Daniele DiMichaele who's more in his element deejaying.However he is one of Italy's most fervent food activists.He's concerned that Italy is losing its'culinary heritage thanks to a multitude of factor such as EU or European Union has certain regulations along with the proliferation of processed foods.Also there is the Influence of flashy American influenced cooking shows. he is doing his best to make sure Italians don't forget centuries old dishes. Signore DiMIchaele is encouraging people to send in their recipes to his blog.It's being sponsored by the Bologna Food Association,Artusi, named after Pellegrino Artusi ,the author of Italy's first cookbook. Ms. Donadio went with this DJ who has provided music for some of Europe's and New York City's Ballroom , to the beautiful Amalfi Coast.There they sat down with sausage makers about making traditional hot pepper encrusted sausages.The DJ is from Otranto himself, an area rich in seafood and good recipes .It's also a region that prides itself on handing down dishes through the centuries.The sausage recipe is an artesenal one, not mass produced in a factory but hung to dry, placed outside the kitchen where it was mixed.This is what Italian cooking is about.He is interested in food"s history ,where did it come from ,how was it invented, why did the original cooks choose the ingredients at they did.This curiosity sort of stemmed from his interest in Carlo Petroni's Slow Food Movement of the1980.s Where as Mr Pertroni was interested in excellence, he was more concerned with a dish"s story. Italian cooking has been around since ancient times.Thanks to Daniele DiMichaele, those same dishes will be around and made for years to come.These are the recipes that made Italian food great and he will see that they will continue to do so.