REGGIO EMILIA – Great Dinner, great success of an evening that lit up the historic center of Reggio Emilia in what is perhaps its most evocative location, the sixteenth-century Benedictine Cloisters of San Pietro. Seven hundred participants at the Great Dinner at the Cloisters for a proceeds of 30 thousand euros that will be donated to the four solidarity projects, namely the Ampasimanjeva hospital in Madagascar of the Diocesan Missionary Center, the schools of the non-profit organization WeWorld in Aleppo in Syria, the activities of the Reggio Emilia social cooperative Rigenera for people with disabilities and the Foundation for Research on Cystic Fibrosis, as well as other solidarity interventions.
The 700 guests were joined by no less than 200 volunteers, namely 120 Auser volunteers, the 30 AIS sommeliers, the chefs of the 3 starred restaurants, namely Roberto Bottero, flanked by Ramona Astolfi and Jacopo Malpeli respectively of the Clinica Gastronomica da Arlando and the Osteria del Viandante in Rubiera, and Fabrizio Albini of the Bianca sul Lago restaurant on Lake Annone. Then Giovanni Mandara, owner of the Piccola Piedigrotta in Reggio Emilia, Leonardo Giribaldi, and Dario and Massimo Nizzoli, sons of Arneo Nizzoli, who recently passed away, to whom the evening dedicated a short and moving video made with images of reports from Telereggio. With them were the two young chefs from Reggio from the Bistrot Pause Claudio Bashaj and Alessandro Tagliavini, and the staff of the various restaurants. For the first time, Nicola Guarnieri, professor of the Motti Institute, and seven other young students from the prestigious Reggio school also joined them.
The work of volunteers from other historic partners of the Grande Cena, namely Binario49 and the Salone delle Feste in Correggio, was as invaluable as ever. A special mention goes to the volunteers from ARCI, who managed all the complex logistical operations of the event with dedication and precision, from the early hours of the morning to late at night.
The menu features all the best of Reggio Emilia’s food and wine, from Spergole and Lambrusco wines offered by the Consorzio Tutela Lambrusco doc, to traditional balsamic vinegar from Reggio Emilia, up to his majesty Parmigiano-Reggiano, with the new entries of watermelon and Spergola sorbet.
The success of the Great Dinner is made possible thanks to an extraordinary mobilization of volunteers, donations and cooperation, thanks to the donations of raw materials, supplies and necessary services, both by the large cooperative companies that have always supported the charitable initiative.
Also present were representatives of the institutions such as the new mayor Marco Massari, the President of the Province Giorgio Zanni, with a video intervention the President of the Region Stefano Bonaccini, the President of the Manodori Foundation Leonello Guidetti, the former mayor Luca Vecchi, the President of Casa Cervi Albertina Soliani, Edwin Ferrari, president of Boorea and Legacoop Emilia Ovest.
From its first edition, held in December 2000 at the Midì restaurant in Mancasale, to today, the Great Dinner has now reached its 24th edition. With the proceeds from yesterday’s dinner, the total funds donated to solidarity projects in the world and in our territories become 570 thousand euros.
