By John Dunkelgrün
On November 16th, in ‘Het Spaanse Hof”, a stylish, originally 16th century, building in the center of The Hague, the ambassador of Italy, H.E. Mr. Giorgio Novello and nine others were invested as Knights of the Dutch chapter of the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartuffoe dei Vini di Alba by Willem Hokken, president of the Dutch chapter, and Mateo Ascheri, Gran maestro of the order.
The new knights were accepted into the Dutch chapter because of their love for and efforts to promote Piedmont’s delicacies, such as its great wines and food, especially the white truffles of Alba. Mr. Hokken added that their interest in preserving the region’s traditions and culture was of special importance.
In an introductory speech, Mr. Novello showed his knowledge of and familiarity with the region with insight and wit. The ambassador has more international academic credentials than most university professors, but here, he showed that his knowledge and interests extend far beyond the worlds of diplomacy and academia.
The evening coincided with the 9th Settimana della Cucina Italiana nel mondo, the worldwide week of Italian cuisine, an event that was recognized and honored by the dinner that followed the ceremony. It was enlivened by several Rossini arias, beautifully sung by the soprano Sophie Collin, and expertly accompanied by Aliya Ishakova. Sr. Tomasso Ghidini from ESA (The European Space Agency) added to the evening with an explanation of the development of ‘space foods’, the foods for astronauts. It was a fascinating exposé of the lengths to which the engineers at ESA have to go to develop foods and materials to be used in space, even using the exoskeleton of Stenocara beetles.
