Best Italian restaurants get recognition from ITCCK
.jpg?w=728)
Finger foods are served at the Italian restaurant Vera in Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Vera
Sergio Mercuri, left, Italian ambassador to Korea, presents Ospitalita Italiana certificate and a golden plaque to Italian restaurant Vera’s general manager June Yoo.
By Kim Jae-heun
The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ITCCK) selected three restaurants to award the Ospitalita Italiana in Seoul, Monday.
Ospitalita Italiana is a global project to enhance the recognition of real Italian cuisine through evaluating and awarding restaurants a “Golden Q” plaque that signifies top quality.
The certification has previously been given to 11 restaurants in Korea, whose owners joined the Monday event with Italian ambassador to Korea Sergio Mercuri and ITCCK President Nicolas Piccato to congratulate the newly-certified.
“Promoting Italian food and culture is a very important job for the Italian embassy,” said Mercuri. “We try our best to supply top quality ingredients to Korea.”
The envoy strongly recommended raw cheeses from the Emilia region grano padano and parmigiano which are used in a lot of Italian dishes.
“Both can come only from Italy, and no other part of the world. They are safe, they are good and they have a very high nutrition value. Without these ingredients you cannot make any dishes,” said Mercuri.
It took almost two years for Vera, one of the three new restaurants certified, to achieve recognition from the ITCCK.
“Vera first opened in March 2013, but closed only after a year for renovation,” said general manager June Yoo. “We invited five local experts and transported Italian made materials to build an original pizza oven in our restaurant.
“It was our mission to serve dishes that appeal to Koreans as well as keep the Italian authenticity. We are very pleased to achieve Ospitalita’ Italiana,” said Yoo.
The certification project began in 2009 over 49 countries and so far 1,420 restaurants have received approval plaques around the world. In Korea, it started a little over a year ago and Secretary General Roberto Martorana of ITCCK visited every candidate restaurants to thoroughly scrutinize the conditions required.
ITCCK demands strict standards to approve Ospitalita Italiana, such as hiring chefs with professional certificate of Italian cooking.
In Korea the following restaurants have been certified:
1. Atrio (Conrad Seoul)
2. Buon Posto
3. CasAntonio
4. Cornerstone (Seoul Park Hyatt)
5. Cucina (Grand Hyatt Incheon)
6. Harmonium
7. Paolodemaria Fine Trattoria
8. Peninsula (Lotte Hotel Seoul)
9. Ristorante (hotel Nongshim Busan)
10. Ristorante EO
11. Sky Lounge (InterContinentall Seoul COEX)
12. The Kitchen Salvatore & Bar
13. The Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo
14. Vera