Appetito Hosts ITA Talks: “Grand Finale” Panel Series Wrap Up

Appetito hosted the final event of the ITA Talks series at the Italian Trade Agency's townhouse in Manhattan.

10:00 AM EDT on June 23, 2025

The ITA Talks "Grand Finale" of 2025 took place on June 17th. — The ITA Talks “Grand Finale” of 2025 took place on June 17th.

In a panel discussion on Tuesday (6/17) at the Italian Trade Agency’s (ITA) offices in New York City, Appetito’s Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief Andrew Cotto joined ITA’s team to wrap up the inaugural "ITA Talks" series.

The series promotes, through panel discussions and dining, Italian gastronomic products available in America. Tuesday marked the sixth and final in a series of monthly occasions, over the first half of 2025, where Appetito served as the co-host in partnership with the ITA.

The ITA Talks "Grand Finale" featured the ITA Food & Wine team (Raimondo Lucariello, far left; Mirella Menglide, center left; Angelo Di Nardo, center right; Erik Beuttenmuller, second from right), Ezio Burani of QNY Creative (second from the left) and Appetito's Andrew Cotto (far right).

Mr. Cotto joined the ITA’s Raimondo Lucariello, Head of Food & Wine Division, and his team of Mirella Menglide, Angela Di Nardo, and Erik Beuttenmuller in front of an audience of important industry figures to recap what had been discussed over the course of the previous events. After a quick summary and words of gratitude from Mr. Lucariello, statistics and panel coverage regarding food were provided by Mr. Beuttenmuller, followed by an overview from Ms. Di Nardo of the wine and spirits' sector. Ms. Menglide previewed the forthcoming Italian Trade Agency efforts planned for the Fancy Food Show which takes place from June 29 - July 1, with an enormous Italian presence as well as sponsorship.

Ezio Burani of QNY Creative joined the panel to discuss the work his agency has done on behalf of the ITA's Food & Wine Division, including prominent digital banners recently displayed in Times Square promoting the excellence of Italian gastronomic products.

Attendees and participants of the ITA Talks "Grand Finale" enjoying the buffet prepared and served by Chef Fabrizio Facchini and his catering team.

The panel session ended with Chef Fabrizio Facchini, of the Association of Italian Chefs in New York, detailing the bespoke tasting menu of Italian delicacies prepared by his catering and events team, including cured meats, various salads, polpette of meat and tuna (respectively), caponata with octopus and more.

According to Mr. Cotto, in his remarks to the panel and audience, the series "was a success due to our collective belief in the exceptionalism of Italian products and our shared mission to promote the idea that all are welcome at the Italian table."

Editor's note: This post was sponsored by ITA.