Collaborations

The University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (UNISG), the world's first university to focus on gastronomic sciences through an innovative, multidisciplinary approach, is a non-state university legally recognised by the Italian government. Founded in 2004 on the initiative of Slow Food, in collaboration with the Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna regions, UNISG now offers a three-year degree in Gastronomic Sciences and Cultures, two master's degree programmes and seven one-year specialised master's programmes, as well as a doctoral programme.

UNISG is distinguished by its experiential approach to teaching and an international network of alumni, visiting professors, organisations and businesses involved in food production, sales and consumption, sharing its commitment and strategic vision. Members of this network work alongside the university to design and develop new opportunities for sustainable growth and innovative food and cultural models.

As Scientific Partner of Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli, UNISG works jointly to develop training programmes for professionals in the baking arts. These programmes address the challenges of sustainability and enable pizza makers to play an active part in the necessary shift in thinking demanded by the present day.

VISIT WEBSITE — UNISG — University of Gastronomic Sciences

ALMA, the International School of Italian Cuisine, is internationally recognised as a leading centre of professional education in Italian hospitality and catering. Each year it trains over 1,000 cooks, pastry chefs, bakery chefs, sommeliers, artisan gelato and pizza makers, front-of-house professionals and restaurant managers. Over twenty years, the Reggia di Colorno has grown from a home for cooks into a home for pastry chefs, maîtres d'hôtel, sommeliers, restaurant managers and bakers too, welcoming young people from around the world and from many educational backgrounds.

ALMA means study, practice, discipline and growth, but also an enduring point of reference for graduates' professional futures. Its courses and master's programmes welcome both those starting their careers and people already working in the industry who wish to update and broaden their skills. Teaching quality is ensured by a distinguished faculty of leading cooks and pastry chefs, established maîtres d'hôtel and master sommeliers. Each week they are joined by visiting professors, Michelin-starred chefs, award-winning pastry masters, food and beverage managers from major hospitality and contract catering businesses, and other industry professionals.

A wealth of different perspectives has always distinguished an ALMA education. It enables students to appreciate the cultural and technical diversity of cuisine and its many expressions, developing the broader and deeper understanding that today's professionals need.

Among the organisations working with ALMA towards this goal, Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli makes a valuable contribution to its Modern Breadmaking and Gastronomic Pizza courses. Both aim to develop well-rounded professionals equipped to meet the challenges of today's market, covering the foundations and traditions of the craft alongside contemporary developments and trends. The expertise and know-how of Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli's teachers bring significant added value, conveying the fundamentals of breadmaking and pizza, as well as updates, trends and innovations, through modules such as signature pizza and focaccia, pizzeria techniques and practical training.

VISIT WEBSITE — ALMA — The International School of Italian Cuisine

The arts of cooking and pastry open up new horizons when work and passion come together to create a true school. This is how Dolce & Salato was born: for many years an established training school both for cooks and pastry chefs already working in their fields and for beginners, younger and older, wishing to enter the wider world of gastronomy.

VISIT WEBSITE — Dolce & Salato

Università dei Sapori, Confcommercio Umbria's training agency based in Perugia, has developed skills and professionalism in catering and food distribution since 1996, addressing a variety of needs and audiences: adults seeking qualifications, professionals updating their knowledge, large-scale retail businesses, and young people completing compulsory education and training. Through ongoing dialogue with businesses, it is a reference point for the entire food sector on tourism, food and wine, hospitality and Italian agri-food culture. In its spacious, modern laboratories, professionals and aspiring professionals acquire innovative skills tailored to market requirements. Practical exercises, project work and experience in businesses enhance the value and effectiveness of its training, alongside excellent teaching and collaboration with partners who lead their respective fields.

VISIT WEBSITE — Università dei Sapori

ICIF — ITALIAN CULINARY INSTITUTE FOR FOREIGNERS

ICIF is a non-profit association founded in 1991 to protect, enhance and promote the image of Italian cuisine and products among catering professionals in Italy and abroad.

Since then, drawing on professional chefs and sommeliers and working with Michelin-starred chefs, industry experts, university lecturers and hospitality and restaurant managers, it has organised master's programmes in Regional Italian Cuisine, Culture and Oenology. It also offers specialist courses in pizza, gelato, chocolate, breadmaking, pastry, vegan and gluten-free cooking, Italian wines and food-and-wine pairing for groups of young Italian and international professionals seeking an Italian specialisation.

In 1997 ICIF began a new chapter by moving to the prestigious Castle of Costigliole d'Asti. The castle was restored to accommodate the institute and its teaching activities through European Union funding allocated to ICIF by the Piedmont region. Alongside classrooms equipped with advanced facilities for modern teaching, wine and olive-oil collections were established where leading Italian producers showcase their products, together with a state-of-the-art tasting room.

In 2004 ICIF expanded its international activities by opening two new centres in Brazil and China. The first, in Flores da Cunha in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, was established in partnership with the University of Caxias do Sul. The second is in Shanghai, on the campus of Shanghai Lingang Science and Technology School. A third centre opened in 2013 at Centro Paula Souza in São Paulo, Brazil.

On 29 March 2014, the Orangerie opened: a new teaching facility built entirely from glass and metal, featuring modern classrooms and cutting-edge technology.

Celebrating authentic Italian cuisine and its outstanding agri-food products is one of ICIF's principal aims. It promotes Made in Italy and high-quality Italian products abroad through training courses for professional chefs and restaurateurs from around the world, as well as participation in trade fairs and international events.

VISIT WEBSITE — ICIF — Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners

Gustar aims to be a reference point in Tuscany for professional and amateur training in the baking and pastry arts. It offers courses tailored to different specialisations, with the goal of developing highly qualified staff.

Its teachers are established professionals who share not only techniques and the secrets of processes and preparation, but also something more: their love and passion for their work.

The comfortable, welcoming premises include classrooms for theory and laboratories where teachers prepare dishes and demonstrate techniques. Students can practise and apply what they have learned using modern equipment.

GUSTAR also welcomes themed events and corporate activities in team building, cooking training and targeted marketing.

Gustar's professionals are skilled local artisans and chefs supported by colleagues from other regions, together forming an interconnected network of experience and shared activities.

VISIT WEBSITE — Gustar

The Academy is a project developed over time, drawing on Lamberti Food's twenty years of experience in the hospitality and catering industry and its expertise in finding innovative solutions for different food identities.

Our passion for our region, its gastronomic culture and the professionalism of its people have further motivated us to create advanced training for professionals as well as courses for those with less experience. Our aim is to share technical and theoretical knowledge through dynamic, enjoyable learning that offers a unique and unforgettable experience.

Our vision is to share our knowledge and our way of experiencing cooking: an art that stimulates creativity, conveys knowledge, instils values and allows us to share emotions.

VISIT WEBSITE — Mediterranea Accademia del Gusto