Introduction to Serafina Scaparra Presciuttini's Cookery Book
By H.E. Guido La Tella, Italian Ambassador in Addis Ababa (2000/2005)
Cookery is one of the deepest expressions of one country's culture. It is the result of the history and lifestyle of its citizens, which is different from region to region and from city to city.
Cookery tells us who we are, allows us to rediscover our roots and represents us' across boundaries.
The culture of cookery is also a very appreciated expression of our country abroad, just like our landscape, our art and everything else that represents the result of tradition and innovation. It has therefore to be safeguarded and protected. It is the culture of the taste, which is able to refine, improve, rediscover lost flavours and tempt the palate with new appetizing foods.
This is the culture of the pleasures of the table, which are included in the human values that people hand down from father to son by renewing them continuously and by building up one's cultural identity.
The purpose of this book, written by Serafina Scaparra Presciuttini, is to codify such culture of cookery and of taste for people who are living far from Italy and want to know and reproduce its flavours, scents and nuances.
This applies to Italians who live abroad and wish, even through their food, to keep their traditions and their memories alive and to experience far-away sensations again.
It also applies to Ethiopians, who will be able to establish a tie with Italy through these recipes, coming from a country that is very far geographically but is historically close. It is possible for them to begin a route of cultural discovery in the most pleasant way: by experiencing the flavours of our cooking.
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