Written by Max Shapiro and Edited by the Flatiron Hot! News Editorial Staff

This afternoon, not far from NYC Seminar Center’s Chelsea and Flatiron Offices, I attended a lecture held by Eataly at Rizzoli Bookstore. It Informed us on the origins of the Italian eatery, and what its core values are. For those who don’t know, Eataly is the world’s largest Italian marketplace, comprising a variety of restaurants, food and beverage counters, bakery, retail items, and a cooking school. I might add this is right up the street on 23rd Street no more than a 2 minute walk from the NYC Seminar and Conference Center’s Meeting Rooms, and is a great choice for those attending events there or elsewhere in Flatiron and Chelsea!

Like all great companies, Eataly started small. It was founded by entrepreneur Oscar Farinetti, and its first location was in Peidmont in 2007. Slowly but surely, it expanded all over the world to places like Japan, Germany, Brazil, and, of course, the US. Part of Eataly’s manifesto is: “Good food brings us all together, and helps us find a common point of view.” Despite its countless locations all over the world, Eataly does not like to think of itself as a “chain.” The cuisines you will find depends on where you are in the world. Its goal is to show people that there is so much more to Italian cuisine than pizza and pasta.

The speaker stated how nearly all food is rooted in Italy, Italian food is “the only food that everybody uses.” So many dishes ascorss all cultures use Italian ingredients. This all ties back to how Eataly’s cuisine unites us all.

To watch snippets of the presentation and get a feel for this excellent lecture, watch this Flatiron Hot! News quickie video clip!: