The Malta delegation of the Accademia italiana della cucina is holding a special event at the Dolce Vita restaurant in St Julian’s on Thursday, at 7.45pm.

The main function of this event is for members and guests of the delegation to meet and exchange Christmas greetings around dinner.

Italian Ambassador Giovanni Umberto de Vito and his wife will be special guests.

As its name implies, the academy aims to promote, safeguard and improve every aspect concerning Italy’s justly famed cuisine. Dinners are held at regular intervals at different restaurants.

Italian food is served and the menu is coordinated by a representative of the delegation, namely the symposiarch, and the respective restaurateur and chef.

Various elements are taken into consideration during the evaluation of the fare presented.

Very important is the scrupulous following of Italian recipes with the right ingredients and freshness, thus guaranteeing authenticity.

Members and their guests pay for their dinner to ensure that the final appraisal is fair and objective.

This exercise is carried out solely by academicians, whose very solid background in Italian gastronomic knowledge is supplemented by their continuous endeavour to learn more about what could be called an art. They pursue anything related to it, whether through literary or artistic expression.

The non-profit-making academy, which is exclusively run by volunteers, was founded in Milan in 1953 by journalist and writer Orio Vergani.

This organisation also has many overseas delegations and Malta’s was founded last year.

The local delegation consists of Italian residents as well as Maltese members.