High-quality Italian food showcased on famed Fifth Avenue

Napoli, September 12 - High quality Italian food products from the Campania region south of Rome will be featured until the end of October at Eataly food shops in New York City first, and later in Chicago.

The promotion of regional agribusinesses in these American markets has been organized by regional officials as well as Unioncamere, representing Italy's chambers of commerce, working with the Eataly retail chain.

Campania food and wine from 37 producers will appear in New York City on Monday and remain there until the end of the month, when the focus will then be transferred to Eataly in Chicago through the month of October.

"Companies in the gourmet food and wine sector will have an important commercial opportunity in collaboration with Eataly," said Maurizio Maddaloni, Unioncamere's regional president in Campania.

"But there will also be opportunities for training for those dedicated to food, with starred Italian chefs," he added. "This (promotional) work is aimed at export markets that even in this moment of crisis, is one of (Italy's) strengths," said Maddaloni. "There is a 'minus' sign in front of many sectors (showing losses), but in agribusiness and tourism sectors there is growth, which is in turn promoted by the visibility of our gastronomic products of excellence".

The promotion of products from Campania in the US is "another" step in raising the profile of the region, said Fulvio Martusciello, president of the regional council.

"The international promotion of our excellent 'Made in Campania' products is an important force with which we will restart the market," hurt by the global financial crisis, said Martusciello. To select the producers taking part in the promotional event, Unioncamere began with a list of 70 businesses that was eventually narrowed down to the final 39 participants.

Initially, Eataly wanted only 30 producers involved but eventually expanded that number by nine, said Dante Del Vecchio of Eataly.

That included some companies that Eataly has had previous relations with.

The company has invested more than $100,000 in the promotion of Campania products which will also be featured on the shelves of eight Eataly restaurants in the US. "The export of Campania products comes thanks to the strong efforts of entrepreneurs who are committed to succeed in the world," said Del Vecchio.

"We hope that the project can continue to (Milan) Expo 2015," he added.

Campania products will also be used in Eataly recipes to be prepared by some Michelin-starred chefs, including Rosanna Marziale and Vitantonio Lombardi.

Their dishes will include a creative 'pizza in black' featuring three different types of fresh truffles, caviar and pecorino ricotta. "We're going to New York to tell of Campania region - a previously unknown region - with those excellent cooking products that for us mean lamb, veal, sausage, vegetables," said Lombardi.

The chefs will prepare a series of dinners in the context of the Identità Golose international cooking event dedicated to high-end food preparation, scheduled for October 9 to 12 in New York. "It is important to show the terms of comparison (of Campania products) to the world: if you put mozzarella from abroad beside Italian buffalo mozzarella, you can taste the difference and then understand," said Paolo Marchi, of the Identità Golose.

"This, we will do in the USA with our chefs".