Little over a month and we will be able to discover them all, one by one. In the next days, however, there will be many previews of the pavilions dedicated to the countries participating in Expo Milano 2015, and we will do our best to report on them. We start with Spain and Japan, which last week began to unveil the culinary projects and the sites dedicated to the World Fair.
Spain counts on Expo 2015 to restate its position of excellence in the food sector and the primacy of its creative cocineros: «We have three out of the ten best restaurants in the world – the Spanish ambassador in Rome, Javier Elorza, proudly synthetises – We’re in third place in terms of tourist presence and we’re at the top with regards to oil and wine, both with reference to production and export. Too bad Italy sells at a price twice as ours…».
The plan of Expo 2015, with the highlighted position of the Spanish pavilion
People were smiling and laughing, the atmosphere was relaxed, the other day, at the presentation of the Iberian pavilion: works proceed according to plans, Spain will be present in large numbers and will also present a significant group of its best chefs. The bidding for the management of the fine dining, as well as that for the catering, was won by Basque group
Sagardi, with 20 years of experience. The complete list of guest-chefs is still not complete: there will surely be
Rodrigo de la Calle in October but as for the other excellent names, the aim is to create a little suspense.
They will be asked to provide the culinary offer of the gourmet restaurant while the pavilion – 3,300 square metres, inspired by a green house with a double nave in the shape of a porch – will also include an auditorium hall, classrooms and workshops, green areas and educational vegetable gardens, a shop selling gourmet specialties, a tapas bar and another casual bar where in the evening there will also be music performances. For all info, here’s the
official website.
Sukiyaki, one of the dishes – made with wagyu beef – which will represent the great cuisine of Japan in Milan
The culinary offer of the pavilion of
Japan will be articulated and multi-faceted: it will be possible to enjoy a total of seven different culinary experiences, while visiting the 4,170 square metres dedicated to the Rising Sun. In particular, there will be a real restaurant, open during the whole duration of the Expo, and a food court in which six important establishments in the Japanese restaurant scene will alternate themselves, occupying, in turn, the four stands destined to providing food and beverages.
The restaurant will represent a centennial history and will move to Milan to bring us, virtually, to Kyoto.
Minokichi is indeed one of the most ancient and famous establishments in Japan: this restaurant was founded in 1719 and was one of the eight in Kyoto that was allowed to serve freshwater fish. Over these three centuries the most prestigious guests in the country, from the imperial family and downwards, visited it.
Centennial tradition will also be available in the food court, such as that of
Ningyocho Imahan, founded in 1895 in Tokyo, close to the royal palace, and specialised in the delicious
wagyu beef: the most famous dish, which will be available at Expo, is
Sukiyaki, prepared with thin slices of beef cooked on the spot, with seasonal vegetables and a special sauce.
Kakiyasu, another beef restaurant founded in 1871, will also arrive in Milan just like sushi chain Kyotaru and Sagami, whose specialties, instead, are Soba and Udon, and then a Japanese-style curry house, CoCo Ichibanya, and finally fast-food chain Mos Burger, which will offer a delicious Rice burger. All this will be coordinated by JRO, the designated organisation for the promotion of Japanese restaurants abroad.
