In order to rapresent the importance of the Mediterranean Diet, we decided to interview the chef Ernesto Iaccarino, from the star Micheline restaurant “Don Alfonso 1890” in Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi, in the Sorrento Peninsula. The choice fell on the chef Iaccarino, born in 1970 in Piano di Sorrento, since currently his culinary conception and, more generally of catering, has the aim of enhancing and spreading the food principles, but above all the cultural ones, that characterize the Mediterranean Diet. Through his story, the chef retraced his experience, explaining the origin of a food and cultural system, identified by Ancel Keys, but which has deeper roots. In fact, during the interview, chef Ernesto Iaccarino explained how products that were initially unused, then became commonly used in the Mediterranean area, and how a food system that has very ancient origins is still today a central issue in the daily life of people. Through his experiences, he explained how, passing from generation to generation, this model of nutrition and life has adapted without distorting itself to the modern culinary panorama and haute cuisine, so much so that it is sought everywhere. In fact, the chef reiterated the importance of spreading the principles of the Mediterranean Diet for him, through the innovative use of local products, without distorting the identity of the food itself, in such a way as to convey through the experience of tasting, all the history, culture and traditions that are contained in that dish. At the end of the interview, we were able to see how the Mediterranean regime can be applied to all areas of life, becoming not only a tool for a healthy diet, but also a form of narration of the traditions and habits of a population, creating a form of universal communication sought all over the world.
Interiew by: Pio GargiuloVideo by: Luigi Ferrara, Stefano Arciello, Rosa De Rosa, Giuseppe Lagrotta
Video Editing: Luigi Ferrara
Document by: Giuseppe Lagrotta, Nicolò Autieri, Rosa De Rosa, Luigi Ferrara
Subtitle ita/eng by: Luigi Ferrara, Stefano Arciello
Translation by: Luigi Ferrara
MedEatResarch – Center of Social Research on the Mediterranean Diet of the University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa, head by Marino Niola and Elisabetta Moro
Realized: 19/04/2022
