Partnerships

The University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (UNISG), the world’s first university focused on gastronomic sciences with an innovative and multidisciplinary approach, is a non-state university legally recognized by the Italian State. Founded in 2004 by Slow Food, in collaboration with the Piedmont and Emilia Romagna regions, UNISG now offers a three-year course in Gastronomic Sciences and Cultures, two master’s degree courses, and seven annual master’s programs, as well as a PhD program.

UNISG is characterized by an experiential approach to teaching and benefits from an international network of alumni, visiting professors, organizations, and businesses operating in the world of food production, sales, and consumption, all of whom share its commitment and strategic vision. These network members are actively involved alongside the university in designing and building new scenarios for sustainable growth and innovative food and cultural models.

UNISG partners with Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli as a Scientific Partner to jointly develop training programs for master pizza makers that address the challenges of sustainability and enable pizzaioli to be key players in the necessary paradigm shift that our present demands.

ALMA, The International School of Italian Cuisine is recognized as the most authoritative professional training center dedicated to Italian hospitality and catering at an international level, training over 1,000 chefs, pastry chefs, bakery chefs, sommeliers, ice cream artisans, pizza makers, restaurant professionals, and restaurant managers each year. Over its 20 years, the Reggia di Colorno has evolved from being the home of chefs to also becoming the home of pastry chefs, maître d’s, sommeliers, restaurant managers, and bakers, welcoming students from all over the world and from various educational backgrounds.

ALMA represents study, practice, discipline, and growth, as well as a constant reference point for one’s professional future once graduated. The courses and masters promoted by the school are aimed both at those who need to build their professional path and those who already work in the sector and seek to update and expand their skills. The quality of teaching is guaranteed by a high-profile faculty composed of great chefs and pastry chefs, maître d’s and established master sommeliers, complemented weekly by visiting professors, starred chefs, multi-award-winning pastry masters, F&B managers from major hospitality and collective catering organizations, and generally by industry professionals.

What has always distinguished ALMA’s training is the diversity of perspectives, enabling its students to grasp the cultural and technical plurality that characterizes cuisine and its variations, and to build a greater and deeper awareness necessary for today’s professionals.

Among the entities collaborating with ALMA towards this goal, Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli represents a valuable addition for courses dedicated to the art of baking: Modern Baking and Gourmet Pizza. Both courses aim to create complete professionals capable of facing the challenges of the modern market, addressing both the fundamentals of the trade and its traditions, as well as the evolutions and trends related to contemporary times. The expertise and know-how of Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli’s instructors are an important asset for transferring fundamental concepts of baking and the world of pizza to students, along with updates, trends, and innovations, covering educational modules such as signature pizza and focaccia, and pizzeria techniques and practice.

Università dei Sapori, the training agency of Confcommercio Umbria, based in Perugia, has been developing skills and professionalism in the restaurant and food distribution sectors since 1996, addressing various needs and audiences: adults who want to qualify, professionals who want to update their skills, large-scale distribution companies, and young people who need to fulfill their educational requirements. Thanks to constant dialogue with the business world, Università dei Sapori is a point of reference for the entire food sector on issues related to tourism, food and wine, the promotion of hospitality, and the Italian agri-food culture. In its modern and spacious laboratories, professionals and aspiring professionals acquire innovative skills that meet market demands. The training path is enriched in value and effectiveness by practical exercises, project work, company experiences, and thanks to the quality of the teachers and collaboration with leading partners in their field of activity.

ICIF – ITALIAN CULINARY INSTITUTE for FOREIGNERS

ICIF is a non-profit association founded in 1991 with the aim of protecting, qualifying, and promoting the image of Italian Cuisine and products among professionals working in the restaurant industry in Italy and abroad.

Since then, employing professional chefs and sommeliers and collaborating with starred chefs, sector experts, university professors, and hotel and restaurant managers, ICIF has organized Masters in Italian Regional Cuisine, Culture, and Enology and specific themed courses on Pizza, Gelato, Chocolate, Bakery, Pastry, Vegan and Gluten-Free Cuisine, Italian Wines, and food-wine pairing for groups of young Italian and foreign professionals who wish to acquire an “Italian” specialization.

In 1997, ICIF opened a new chapter in its history by moving its headquarters to the prestigious Castello di Costigliole d’Asti, renovated for the Institute and its training activities thanks to a contribution from the European Union allocated to ICIF by the Piedmont Region. Alongside classrooms equipped with the most sophisticated systems for modern teaching activities, a wine cellar and an oil library were set up, where the best Italian producers display their products. Adjacent is a state-of-the-art tasting room.

In 2004, ICIF took a further step by expanding its activities abroad, opening two new locations in Brazil and China. The first in southern Brazil, in the Rio Grande do Sul Region, in Flores da Cunha, established in collaboration with the University of Caxias do Sul. The second in Shanghai, at the Shanghai Lingang Science and Technology School university campus, and the third, inaugurated in 2013, again in Brazil in São Paulo at the Centro Paula Souza.

On March 29, 2014, the Orangerie was inaugurated, a new educational structure entirely built of glass and metal, with modern classrooms and cutting-edge technology.

Enhancing true Italian Cuisine and the agri-food excellence that distinguishes it is one of ICIF’s main objectives to promote “Made in Italy” and Italian excellence products abroad, through the activation of training courses for professional chefs and restaurateurs from around the world, as well as within sector fairs and international events.

The Academy is a project born over time, thanks to the twenty years of experience gained by Lamberti Food in the Ho.Re.Ca sector, specializing in the search for innovative solutions for various food identities.

Our passion for our land, gastronomic culture, and the professionalism of the human resources in our territory have motivated us even more to create advanced training courses for professionals as well as develop courses for less experienced individuals. Our aim is to transmit technical and theoretical knowledge through dynamic and enjoyable learning, allowing participants to live a unique and unparalleled experience.

Our vision is to convey our knowledge and way of living the kitchen—an art that stimulates creativity, imparts knowledge, instills values, and allows us to share emotions.