ROSARIO SCARPATO
Melius Network Director
Italian-born Rosario Scarpato, relocated to Dubai from Australia in last quarter of 2014. Rosario has a specific expertise in the following areas:
MANAGEMENT OF CULINARY INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
From 2007 Rosario Scarpato has created and managed a large number of complex gastronomy events related to the promotion of Italian Cuisine, including the Italian Cuisine World Summit (www.italiancuisinesummit.com 4 editions in Hong Kong, 4 in Dubai), the International Day of Italian Cuisines (New York, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Sapporo, Montreal, Stuttgart etc. www.itchefs-gvci.com ) In total he has dealt with over 500 restaurants, 180 luxury hotels and has managed the appearance of 200 Michelin starred chefs. He has collaborated with the management of important exhibitions in the organization of Gala Dinners and Food and Wine receptions, including Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair and Dubai’s Food Speciality Fair.
INTERNATIONAL FOOD NETWORKS AND MEDIA
With over 20 years of experience as food writer, TV director and producer, Rosario Scarpato has travelled in more than 55 countries, contributing regularly with hundreds of articles, investigations and surveys to various international media, as the Italian monthly Gambero Rosso, the Epicure supplement of the daily The Age, Australia, and other publications such as Divine, Australia, Sobremesa, Spain and Cuisine&Vins, Argentina among the others.
For 7 years he has produced TV programs and documentaries on food traveling and ethnic cuisines for the Italian TV channel – Raisat Gambero Rosso, including two series The Travels of the Global Glutton (39 episodes). Many of his productions received awards and accolades, including The Indomitable Spirit, a work in English and Spanish about Peruvian Pisco, which won in Paris the prize of OenoVideo 2007, as the best foreign language documentary. Thanks to his experience, Mr Scarpato has a vast network of colleagues and acquaintances all around the world involved in gastronomy.
GASTRONOMY TOURISM AND PLACE-MAKING
Besides the direct hands-on management experiences, he has conducted relevant research and written academic articles on the topic of cultural tourisms, as the gastronomy and hospitality ones. In particular, he has contributed with two chapters to the book “Tourism and Gastronomy” (London, Routledge 2002), the first of its kind, and wrote in many academic publications including the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management (Gastronomy Studies in search of Hospitality).