Giallozafferano, the leading food media brand in Italy, is endorsing Italian cooking excellence with the launch – for the first time on the virtual market – of a series of NFT collectibles: fifteen digital works dedicated to the best known and most loved Italian recipes around the world.
An exclusive project – created in partnership with OMD Italy, media agency of the Omnicom Group, and developed together with ACTA Fintech, a consulting firm specialised in NFTs – which focussed on multiple objectives:
- Innovating: bringing the most authentic and representative recipes of the country’s culinary culture to the Metaverse.
- Protecting and spreading Made in Italy branding: selecting the best of its products and guaranteeing its authenticity via blockchain technology.
- Giving back: by supporting Banco Alimentare, a food bank providing food to the neediest.
For its first NFT collection, Giallozafferano has selected certain most globally iconic and well-known dishes in Italian cuisine, travelling from north to south Italy, and it has entrusted their preparation to the most well-established chefs on the national scene according to the authentic recipe, certified by a gastronomic committee made up of industry chefs and professionals.
“Giallozafferano has always been at the forefront in seizing innovations offered by the digital world and in promoting and making Italian cuisine available to everybody, in any form, along a path that is continuously evolving. We were born on the Web, creating the largest community of food bloggers in the country and we have created a fanbase of over 40 million followers around social media, becoming an international benchmark for food, and today we are home to the best food creators. Now, we’re taking the next leap forward landing on the Metaverse: an important project, which once again sees us engaged serving the authenticity and promoting great Italian cuisine around the world”, Andrea Santagata, general manager of Mondadori Media, stated.
“As OMD, we believe that innovation and experimentation are the basis for staying abreast of change, a constant factor in the technological landscape. NFT and blockchain are important levers in the digital market and we believe it is essential to learn about them and use them correctly. As we have done with other schemes, the projects we implement need to be part of a wide-ranging strategy, which enhances use and mechanics. We believe that Italian culinary heritage lends itself beautifully to be immortalised and narrated using NFTs and, for this reason, we have contributed to this impressive project with Giallozafferano. The beneficial purpose of the initiative shows yet again how culture and innovation can impact the social sphere, raising public awareness and making a substantial impact also from an economic standpoint”, Giorgia Paloschi, Strategic Director of OMD Italy, commented.
The NFT collection
The first recipes of the Giallozafferano 15 NFT collection were prepared by exceptional chefs: Milanese Risotto by the multi-starred chef Alessandro Negrini; classic Tiramisu by Frau Knam and the special version by Ernst Knam; Naples-style Pizza by world champion Davide Civitiello and Carbonara sauce pasta by Luciano Monosilio, the chef who raised this dish to haute cuisine status.
Each dish was photographed by Marianna Santoni, an artist who is an international calling card in digital photography which was then converted to a limited edition NFT.
“Together with Giallozafferano, we’ve managed to combine certain cornerstones of our present times in a single project. Gastronomy, a flagship of our country and a pioneer all over the world, together with innovation, will open the Mondadori Group brand to the universe of non-fungible tokens, highlighting, yet again, the brand’s far-sighted approach with respect to emerging technologies. Being part of this project is a source of pride”, Gian Luca Comandini, Co-Founder of ACTA FinTech added.
Donation to the Milan-based Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo
The project was presented at a special event during which, Giallozafferano donated the first NFT for Saffron Risotto created by chef Alessandro Negrini to the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo.
The recipe will be kept for posterity in the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo Archive, which will receive a first non-fungible token, enriching the documentary heritage that the institution has generated and collected in over six hundred years of history since its foundation.
The Veneranda Fabbrica Archive is the diary of the city, active day after day since 1387, preserving infinite and precious treasures. Old documents, ledgers, projects for the Duomo cathedral, musical scores, and pictures dating back to the dawn of photography, as well as so much more.
Symbol of Milan, the Cathedral is also an exceptional place for the story that binds it to this gold-coloured spice: in fact, tradition has it that, to obtain the characteristic ochre yellow colour used for the stained-glass Cathedral windows, the master glassmakers used saffron. Next to the Cathedral of Milan scaffolding, the very particular and colourful recipe of the Milanese risotto is claimed to have been created centuries ago.
The project with Banco Alimentare food bank
For each recipe, 99 copies will be created, of which 98 will be available on the market through the Opensea platform at the price of 99 euros, contributing to the charitable work of Banco Alimentare.
“We’re happy to be the charity partners of this innovative all ‘digital’ project. We thank Giallozafferano for having decided to support our work in favour of those living in fragile conditions. Thanks to the valuable help given by attentive companies such as Giallozafferano, Banco Alimentare will be able to respond to thousands of requests for help received every day: these projects strengthen our alliance with the business world and we hope that this is just the first step of a long journey in the name of partnering and mutual esteem”, Giovanni Bruno, Chairman of the Banco Alimentare Foundation said.
Benefits reserved for holders of Giallozafferano NFTs
The first 4 NFTs will be available on and after 31 May. Buyers will receive a numbered token and certificate. Each NFT will give the holder the opportunity to view the exclusive recipe, correlated with an exhaustive description of its history, in Italian and English, and to participate in a special Virtual Masterclass, starting in September: a unique experience to learn about all the secrets of a perfect dish directly from the skilled hands of the person who created the recipe.
For each recipe 1 NFT Special Edition will also be autioned, at the starting price of 5,000 euros: the owner will be entitled to an exclusive showcooking session with the Chef that created the dish at the Giallozafferano studios and a private dinner for 4 people.
The iconic dishes that will enrich the Giallozafferano NFT Collection
Over this year, the NFT collection will be enriched by 11 other iconic recipes: orecchiette pasta with cime di rapa turnip tops by Fabio Abbattista, Genoese focaccia by Ezio Rocchi, eggplant parmigiana by Daniele Rossi, lasagna with meat sauce, amatriciana sauce, pesto basil sauce, arancini, breadcrumb fried rice balls with a savoury filling. In 2023, the collection will be further enriched with new recipes, continuing to showcase the variety of Italian cuisine and to better express the importance of Italian culinary culture on the global scene.
Giallozafferano is the food media brand of the Mondadori Group: it is a leader on the web, where it is the favourite cooking site of 1 out of 4 Italians, with 16 million unique users per month (source: Audiweb, March 2022), and the fourth largest cooking brand on social media, with a fanbase of over 40 million followers (source: Shareablee and Insight, May 2022). Thanks to its recipes that are within everyone’s grasp, whether novice or expert cook, it is available to people 24/7 on all channels: from the web to social media, even internationally, from apps to smart devices and including magazines and books and local area events up and down the country. Today, Giallozafferano is also home to the best food talents, to whom the first “GZ Creator Award” was dedicated, also becoming a benchmark for the young generations of cooking professionals.