Bologna - Cinema and food, a combination capable of imprinting iconic images in the memory and handing them down for generations. It is possible to relive this magic in the experiences proposed by the Cesarine community, in agreement with the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, on the occasion of the thirty-eighth edition of the Cinema Ritrovato festival, scheduled in Bologna from 22 to 30 June. In addition to enjoying the almost five hundred films in the programme, restored masterpieces and hidden gems from every era proposed in one of the most loved rituals by the people of Bologna, film buffs from all over the world and the many tourists who flock to the city, during the Festival Il Cinema Ritrovato it will in fact be possible to enjoy Cesarine's food and wine experiences designed specifically for cinema. Menus and cooking classes paying homage to historical masterpieces and international artists will be offered alongside traditional dishes in the Cesarine and Cesarini houses in Bologna.
We start off with the cooking class offered in the city centre by Cesarina Cristina 'Bianco, rosso e verdone' in which you learn how to prepare three extraordinary variations of a traditional dish: the classic tortellini, the smeraldino with green pasta and the corallino with a lively red colour - each with its own unique filling and seasoning - tortellini in broth, smeraldini with parmesan cream and corallini wrapped in a delicious ragout.
In the Cineteca area, Cesarino Maurizio proposes the cooking class 'Pietro Germi's Italy' set in the 1950s and 1960s, when the main food on the Italian table became pasta: bucatini, maccheroni, spaghetti... as long as it was pasta, strictly seasoned with tomato sauce. In this context, Italian cinema reached its zenith, as did the vision of the Bel Paese. Pietro Germi's two most successful films were released on the big screen in Italy, while in America a vision of their own 'Italian-ness' depopulated. The iconic dish across the Atlantic becomes 'spaghetti meatballs': in the course, however, they are offered as tradition commands, i.e. cooked separately. The cooking class includes egg spaghetti with tomato sauce and meatballs, trying to relive the atmosphere of Italy in those years at the table.
Just outside the city, Cesarina Paola offers the menu 'Cinema, what a passion! Two recipes from two great films' in which guests are invited to immerse themselves in the world of cinema and enjoy iconic dishes from some films. These are not just regional recipes but a journey through Italy enriched by incursions of Middle Eastern flavours. From "Pranzo di Ferragosto" to "Le Fate Ignoranti", passing through "Pranzo di Ferragosto", where one of the most welcome guests is our beloved pasta, baked in the oven and prepared with classic Bolognese ragù and béchamel sauce, all topped with abundant Parmesan cheese. The stars of 'Le Fate Ignoranti' are the white meatballs, enriched with apple, onion and spices, to be enjoyed with confit tomatoes or other seasonal vegetables.
If you are curious to discover all the proposals designed for lovers of cinema and good food, here is the link.
Cesarine.com is the first online platform in Italy for food experiences with a community of 1,500 amateur cooks and chefs who in 2023 opened the doors of their homes and territories to more than 48,000 guests, mostly international (+65% compared to 2022). Founded in 2004 in Bologna as the Association for the Protection and Enhancement of Italy's Typical Culinary Gastronomic Heritage, in 2014 the community became a platform under the leadership of tech entrepreneur Davide Maggi - creator of some of Italy's first digital startups and executive director of the Digital Marketing & Communication Executive Program of the Bologna Business School. On its 20th birthday, Cesarine counts dozens of spontaneous applications every week.