Day one of the international chef congress Identità Golose has finished with thousands of people attending what marked the 10th Anniversary of the event.
The day kicked off with the Italian chef Pino Cuttaia showing a packed congress hall how he creates his famous Uovo di Sepia dish. A dish that looks like a perfect egg on a plate but what turns out to actually be squid. The Italian chef's plate was chosen as the symbol for the 2014 congress, a dish that harnesses a wide number of adaptive cooking techniques while staying rooted in tradition, perfectly encapsulating this year's theme of "A Tasty Intelligence".

Fine Dining Lovers were on hand to interview Lidia Bastianich who spoke about her childhood memories of moving from a traditional Italian household to America. The Japanese chef Yoshiaki Takazawa who owns Takazawa, a ten seat restaurant that's classed as one of the toughest dinner reservations in the world. He spoke about how Japan's dining scene is changing, how he's now trying to focus on using Japanese ingredients in his dishes and gave us some tips for getting a seat at his restaurant. Interviews finished with a chat with the French chef Jean Francois Piege who spoke about the importance of trying to place emotion into his cuisine. Videos from all the interviews will be released on the site.
Other highlights included the Italian chef Carlo Cracco talking about his work in the kitchen with kidneys. He focused on a particular dish that presents kidneys rare after warming them on baking paper with salt and amortized spices. Fabio Pisani and Alessandro Negrini were also on hand to pay special homage to two female Italian chefs Nadia Santini and Lidia Bastianich.
Monday 10th will see presentations from Italy's newest three Michelin starred chef Niko Romito, the ambassador of Peruvian cuisine Gaston Acurio, the Brazilian chef Rodrigo Oliveira and Kobe Desramaults from In de Wulf in Belgium, to name just a few. There will also be the debut of a new series on water and it's importance in the kitchen. Sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, Identità d’Acqua will see a number of chefs present on techniques that incorporate water in cooking. Spain's Quique Dacosta will be on hand to explore the meanings of cooking with sea water.
Stay tuned for more.