An Italian square in which we talk about products, trends and business. This is how its organizers describe Dolce & Salato Fest, the event dedicated to Made in Italy for the world of food and hospitality that Thursday 12 November has returned to New York, for the fourth edition, at 155 Sullivan Street, in SoHo. It was held from 10 to 18, open to both professionals and the public.
The heart of the event is the meeting between those who produce and buy, serve or tell Italian food: chefs, restaurateurs, pastries, buyers, producers of ingredients and suppliers of equipment. On the table there are pizza, pasta, panettone and ice cream, but also wines, liqueurs, coffee and artisan products, together with machinery, design and advice for those who open a local or want to renew their offer. The live demonstration program included, among others, chefs Ciro Iovine of Song and Napule, Massimo Laveglia and Nick Baglivo of L’Industrie, Roberto Caporuscio of Keste Pizza, Rob Cervoni, winner of Chopped on Food Network, and pastry chef Cologero Taibi, with Amy Riolo as teacher of ceremonies.
“We can compare it to an Italian square in which all the most famous chefs and the most important companies of ingredients and equipment meet to talk, discuss and know new products, new trends and all the news that concern the world of food”, explained Gianluca Rivizzigno, co-director of the event and responsible for Mode, the company of Brooklyn that import professional equipment and Italian furniture for the sector. This year’s news is ice cream: “We have added many more companies for ice cream, so there has been a good increase from that point of view”. Next to the news there are the faithful presences: “There are companies that are with us from the beginning and follow us all the years, but also many new companies that see this event very interesting for their business”.
Marco Cattaneo, co-founder and organizer, head of sales and drafts of Mode for the United States, underlined the growth of an appointment that “now has become an annual event, dedicated to Made in Italy for the whole field of hospitality”. “We are very happy: there was a lot of affluence, there are many products, many exhibitors, producers of ingredients, commercial equipment, cooks making live demos,” he added. “An event absolutely unmissable for those in the field”.
Growth is also seen in places. The first edition was held in the showroom in Mode, Brooklyn; the third, in 2025, at St. Patrick’s Youth Center in Mulberry Street; the fourth landing in SoHo. The event is led, as well as by Cattaneo and Rivizzigno, by Sabrina Mancin, founder and co-director, director of Le 5 Stagioni USA, the American branch of Agugiaro & Figna. To organize the event, taking care of every detail, was Antonio Minervini, in art Tonytooslick.
That’s where tradition becomes business. The heart of the event, according to the organizers, are the small brands and emerging entrepreneurs who transform ancient recipes and family stories into products, made here in the United States. In the presentation of the edition, Rivizzigno explained that the goal is to help those who share the Italian roots of the organizers to achieve commercial success, bringing Italian gastronomic excellence into the world. Cattaneo has described Dolce & Salato Fest as a precious network in which chefs and entrepreneurs can exchange ideas and skills and build partnerships.
For an Italian company that wants to get acquainted in New York, the advantage lies in finding in the same space and in the same day the professionals to address: chefs, restaurateurs, buyers. This is where a taste can become a contact, and a contact an order.
L’articolo Dolce & Salato Fest, in SoHo the Italian tradition comes from IlNewyorkese.
