Sep 20

The side of Sicily truly appreciated abroad

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The return leg of the international partnership between Nivarata and the Brighton and Hove Drink Festival came to an end after a few days full of food and drink events, cultural exchange, guests, local and international produce, new machineries and visitors from all over the world.

The Little Sicily area, devoted to our region and part of the Sussex and the World Market, and the A Taste of Sicily night event were greatly appreciated by British people. The Sicilian dinner included typical food cooked at the venue like pasta alla Norma (freshly made with ricotta salata and organic oil – which was really appreciated!), cheeses to go with honey, chutneys and wine jellies, arancini, cannoli, almond biscuits, wines and liqueurs. Added to this, promotional materials focused on tourist and cultural information about Sicily were distributed over the festival days in order to support inbound tourism.

Thousands of visitors, including food experts and distributors, showed their interest and appreciation to the different businesses promoted through Nivarata in Brighton. New collaborations are expected to take place between the two festival as well as between Britain and the Sicilian businesses who joined the international exchange. The first step has been made!

Casale Romano delizie - olio e marmellate

Amaro tipico siciliano - Amaru Unnimaffissu

Sep 01

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Nivarata and the best of Sicilian produce showcasing at the Brighton & Hove Food & Drink Festival

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Thanks to an innovative and successful format, in only three editions the Nivarata festival of granita has reached important goals such as the participation in national and international food events.

Next week Nivarata will be involved in the return leg of the partnership with the Brighton & Hove Food & Drink Festival, started in June when some representatives of the British festival came over to Acireale to take part in the granita festival and film the first part of the episode of the International Chef Exchange TV series, focused on the chefs swap between Acireale and Brighton along with many other partners and destinations across the globe. The Nivarata team will be heading to Brighton from 4-8 September 2014, joining one of the largest food festivals in the UK.

Over the Spring Harvest (Easter) and Autumn Harvest (September) the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival annually attracts around 160,000 consumers and 350 businesses, with a contribution of around £4.1 million to the regional economy.

In addition to free entry events including the Sussex & The World Market, Live Food Show, Children’s Food Festival and Brighton Beer Festival, the festival organisation runs a host of evening ticketed events, tastings and tours featuring both local and world gastronomy.

The festival has a substantial PR and marketing machine behind it and regularly features in national press including most recently BBC, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, the New York Post but also regional media outlets and numerous websites and food blogs. As part of the partnership with the Sicilian festival Nivarata, Latest TV will film the return leg of the exchange as part of the “International Chef Exchange” project, whose main objectives are to promote food tourism between regions and encourage international trade between food and drink producers. The new six-part television series is going to be shown across Britain, thus representing a great chance of tourist promotion for Acireale and the whole area surrounding Etna.

Last June Seb Cole of Brighton’s Boho Gelato – acclaimed by the Sunday Telegraph as one of the ten best ice cream shops in the UK – showcased some of his extraordinary creations during the Nivarata festival of artisan made granita. Now it’s time for the Sicilian representatives to work with him again to get British people to try the real Sicilian granita.

Among the big line-up of special night events run by the festival organisation, a highlight of this year is A Taste of Sicily. On the evening of Friday 5 September (7pm) a special event will be held to celebrate Sicilian flavours, culture and traditions by showcasing typical food and drink, alongside a selection of granita which will be made using imported Cattabriga granita machines.

Added to this, over the 6-7 September weekend Nivarata will be showcasing the best of Sicilian quality produce within a dedicated “Little Sicily” area set at the Sussex & The World Market on seafront Hove Lawns.

Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival – photo ©Julia Claxton

For the Sicilian businesses which have chosen to join the project this represents a great opportunity to develop a network of international contacts and create export distribution channels in the UK.

Over 1000 kg of the very best Sicilian produce – both savoury and sweet – have been shipped from Acireale and are on their way to Brighton right now: cannoli and paste di mandorla from the pastry chef Paolo Fasone, Modica’s chocolate, cheeses from Zappalà, distillery products from Fichera, Unnimaffissu amaro liqueur, wine jams and jellies from Terrenere, fruit preserves from Campisi and Perla dell’Etna, wines from Puglisi. Added to this, refined biological produce such us jams from Perla dell’Etna, oil and jams from Casale Romano, the unique Etna lemon juice and honey from Solmielato.

Alongside Sicilian food and drink producers, Nivarata will be joined by other local businesses focused on the tourism industry: Villa Sciare Modò, Etna Mareneve escursioni, Tekné Italia, Odè arti sceniche and Acireale Town Council. ENIT and ICE will distribute promotional materials about Sicily.

For full details of the programme, visit the festival website at:

www.brightonfoodfestival.com

For more information about Nivarata:

www.nivarata.it – info@nivarata.it

Jun 26

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Winners of Nivarata 2014

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Winners of Nivarata 2014 were announced On Sunday 8 June during the final Awards ceremony.

Run from 6th – 8th June in the newly built Angolo Paradiso cultural centre in Villa Belvedere Gardens, in Acireale, The third festival edition came to an end after 3 exciting days in which national and international gelato makers (the British gelato maker Seb Cole, the Italian gelato makers Arnaldo Conforto and Ruben Pili, as well as members of the jury Antonio Cappadonia, Francesco Patané, Roberto Lobrano, Marta Messeri and Don Angelino’s son, Santo Trovato, to name just a few) took the chance to share ideas and work together.

The audience gave the Granita of the Year award (43,45% ) to the gelato maker Fulvio Massimino of Bellavista bar with his granita La rossa (wild berries,oranges, goji berries).Monika Rodzen, the 2013 award winner, came in second place (15,48%) with her granita Sogno caraibico (pineapple) and Francesco Di Nunno came third (6,55%) with Cucumber (cucumber, juniper berries, red fruits, citrus zest).

The professional jury gave the Don Angelino award to Monika Rodzen of Torte Storte, Sant’Agata Li Battiati (CT), followed by Francesco Di Nunno and Luigi Norelli.

“Vetrine da gustare“, the shop window display competition based on the theme of Sicilian granita (with 10 local shops in competition this year) was won by the concept store Les Rêves en Rose; Anastasi Calzature came in second place, while Tomarchio ottica e fotografia came third.

The artistChiara Fassari, from Acireale, was the winner of the painting competition organised by Associazione Spighe D’ Oro and Nivarata 2014, whereas Laura Ferma was the winner of the cake design competititon.

May 20

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It’s a yummy programme!

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Three days devoted to Sicilian ice cream as well as to the promotion of Sicilian top agricultural and food sector and natural ingredients.

Not only a great line-up of events (conferences, live food shows, workshops, handicraft, panel discussions, exhibitions, art displays and special guests), but also the patronage of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies and this year’s partnerships do highlight the importance of the festival.

From 6 to 8 June, Acireale will host master gelato makers and food professionals coming from all across Italy and even from Great Britain. A real feast of tastes devoted to Sicily.

Among other well-known guests joining the event there will be Eugenio Guarducci, creator of Eurochocolate, the celebrated festival of chocolate.

Guarducci, together with Hon. Giuseppe CASTIGLIONE (Undersecretary of state – Ministry of Agricultural and Food Policies), will be the protagonist of the panel discussion Granitas towards Expo 2015 , taking place on Friday 6 June (12:30 am, PalaNivarata). The core objective of this event will be to announce the participation of Nivarata and Sicilian granita in the Milan 2015 Expo.

Sicilian Artisan Granita, made with healthy and fresh ingredients such as almonds, lemons or oranges, is a typical product that perfectly matches with the aim of the Milan exposition: taking visitors on a journey through tastes of the world.

On Saturday 7 June (11.30am, Pala Nivarata), the panel discussion and live food show La dieta mediterranea e la cultura del benessere will be focused on producers and produce of Sicily, freshness and health. Agricultural and food experts will participate in the debate.

The third edition of the Nivarata festival of granita will form another important partnership with Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival, one of the most remarkable food and drink events in Britain, now in its 13^th edition.

This partnership projects Sicily into foreign trade: in September the Nivarata team will visit Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival to introduce Sicilian artisan granita and other premium typical products to British people: wines, confectionary products, cheese and farming produce.

Moreover, thanks to the partnership formed with this important British food and drink festival, on Saturday 7 (6.00pm, Pala Nivarata), the English gelato maker Seb Cole, owner and chef at Brighton gelato producer Boho Gelato, will showcase his culinary skills during The Big Chill, a live food show focused on ice cream and granita of Sicily and Britain.

Cole is well-known for his creative flavours and is eager to return to the country where he originally learned his trade. His live food show will be filmed as part of the television series International Chef Exchange, airing across the UK on the new Channel 8. Previous visits include Maastricht, Rotterdam, Lyon and The Hague, with Acireale, Guernsey, Sweden and Dubai planned for the next three months.

Seb will be joined at Nivarata by Sarah Thompson from Blackdown Sussex Spirits who will be showcasing her award-winning artisan gin and vermouth, alongside a selection of Sussex cheeses from High Weald Dairy and chutney from Terre á Terre.

for more information about accommodation: http://www.anivarata.it/en/stay/

Mar 21

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Nivarata – Il rito della granita siciliana 2014 > 6 – 7- 8 June

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Nivarata. Il rito della Granita Siciliana.

The granita festival that starts the summer off on a sweet note

Now in its third edition, Nivarata – Il rito della Granita Siciliana aims at getting the summer off to a perfect start by giving some relief from hot weather to both the Sicilians and all the visitors eager to satisfy their sweet cravings.

Nivarata is a real feast devoted to authentic Sicilian taste. The festival takes place in Acireale, a beautiful historic town on the east coast of Sicily, easily reachable from Catania-Fontanarossa airport.

With more than 20.000 recorded visitors in 2013 as well as 3.000 kg of granita produced and distributed over the festival days, Nivarata has established itself nationwide. As also shown by its participation in the international expo Sigep 2014, it has become the official event devoted to Artisan Sicilian Granita, a delicious semi-frozen dessert, made from water, sugar and various flavourings (almond, lemon, pistachio, strawberry, to name just a few).

The top quality artisan granitas created by the most talented master ice cream makers over the three festival days have become popular and give tourists one more reason to visit Sicily, along with its blue sea and wonderful sunny days during the bathing season.

First and only one in its kind in Italy, the festival has become an annual event also much awaited by industry professionals on account of the variety of opportunities for economic growth resulting from Nivarata.

The festival days offer a special showcase for all food professionals to display artisan confectionary products. Food tasting, meetings and live food shows in the presence of celebrated guests and industry professionals all contribute to underlining the genuineness of Sicilian raw materials and ice cream preparation techniques.

Launched in 2012, our gastronomic event owes its name to nivaroli, people from the past who, long before modern technology, used to collect and store snow from the mountains (Etna, Monti Peloritani, Iblei and Nebrodi) in order to refrigerate food and make delicious granita.

Attracting more and more visitors and quickly gaining professional acknowledgment from one year to another, the festival has been enriched with collateral events and has hosted national and international guests and jury members: Andy Luotto (chef), Nino Aiello (Gambero Rosso), Franco Patanè (celebrated master ice cream maker), Arnaldo Conforto (Associazione Maestri Gelateria Italiana), Marco Cavara (Cattabriga), Corrado Assenza (Caffè Sicilia di Noto).

In the forthcoming edition, Nivarata will continue to aim at making Sicilian artisan granita a true icon of the territory, enhancing the peculiarity of its recipe. Its great quality and taste are successfully guaranteed by world-famous Sicilian master ice cream makers, whose art is handed down from one generation to the next.

Key elements of the festival are:

– the Granita of the Year contest. Gelato masters will compete with the creation of two granitas (a classic and an experimental one), judged by the public.

– the Don Angelino Award, named in honour of the famed master gelato artisan from Acireale. A technical jury will award the master ice cream maker able to create and produce the best granita in one flavour chosen beforehand by the jury members.

The best Italian master gelato makers will engage in a contest based on the production as well as on the personal interpretation of a typical product, with the exclusive use of the finest ingredients so as to offer our public authentic Sicilian artisan granitas.

The competition will take place in a 100 square metre lab called Pala Nivarata, a space specifically set up and equipped with the best machinery on the market.

The programme of the third edition will include collateral activities to liven up our visitors’ experience while tasting granitas. There will be art, cultural and recreational events: cooking shows, local handicrafts and confectionary exhibitions, workshops, guided tours of the town and of the surrounding natural areas, children’s entertainment, live music, jugglers, a photo contest and the Shop Window Display competition.

This year Nivarata have a partnership with Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival, and Eurochocolate.

Seb Cole – Brighton’s leading gelato maker – will be joining us at Nivarata to showcase his culinary skills, using artisan produce from across the Sussex region.

The festival enables visitors to experience the real taste of Sicily and discover that unique mixture of cultures which best represents the essence of our island.

For full details of programme, event dates & location information follow us on:

For further information: www.nivarata.it – www.facebook.com/anivarata – info@nivarata.it

To view and download high resolution photos from past editions, follow the link: http://bit.ly/foto-Nivarata2013

To view and download the logo, follow the link: http://bit.ly/logo-Nivarata2014