ICIF (Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners)

The ICIF - Institute of Cuisine, Culture and Oenology of the Regions of Italy - is a non-profit association aimed at promoting the Italian enogastronomic traditions and agricultural-food products abroad, through the organization of training courses and promotional events.

Since 1991, its birth date, ICIF has been organizing Master and Short Courses (generic and theme ones) and Refresher Courses for groups of foreign professionals (chefs, sommeliers, restaurateurs) wishing to acquire a specialization in Italian Cuisine and Oenology. Over these years it has awarded diplomas to students from Australia, Bermudas, Brazil, Canada, China, Cyprus, Korea, Philippines, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico, Peru, Russia, United States, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, Taiwan, Venezuela, beside, of course, Italy.

The promotion of the Institute’s activities and the ensuing recruiting of students take place thanks to the widespread net of its representative offices abroad, currently present in over 38 Countries, scattered throughout Europe, Asia, North America and South America.

During their training ICIF students attend classes on cookery, bread-making, pastry and ice-cream as well as Italian lessons and a comprehensive course on wine. They are immersed in the pleasant and evocative atmosphere of the Castle of Costigliole d’Asti, where the classrooms have been fitted with state-of-the art equipment for culinary education. The ICIF tasting classroom, housed in the ancient cellars of the Castle has a special charm, it is here where the students discover the instinct that will guide them in the world of wine and where they will be taught how to become aware of their sensory organs. At the end of the course the students return to their own countries with a passion for the tastes and smells of the Italian tradition, taking what they have learnt with them to use in the Italian restaurants where they work.