A design competition celebrating authenticity!
NEW YORK (November 25, 2021)
This year, the Consorzio for the Protection of PARMIGIANO REGGIANO® cheese launched its first-ever Design Challenge, an initiative that continued its long commitment to creativity, innovation and craftsmanship. Co-sponsored by renowned Italian design companies Kartell and ALESSI, the Design Challenge offered professional designers and design students the opportunity to enter product design concepts based on the theme of “AUTHENTICITY”.
Following almost 500 entries submitted by professional designers and design students from countries across the globe, the Awards Ceremony took place on November 18th at the beautiful Kartell Showroom in New York City. The winners were celebrated by an audience of executives from top Italian design and food brands, a number of prominent designers, and members of the press.
The event included a welcome statement by Marcello Turini, Chief Business Development Officer for theConsorzio for the Protection of PARMIGIANO REGGIANO® – who came from Italy specifically to attend the ceremony and celebrate the winners – as well as statements by sponsors, JJ Jenkins, CEO of Kartell USA, and Emanuele Gaeti, CEO of ALESSI USA.
Additionally, Min. Plen. Fabrizio Di Michele, the Consul General of Italy in New York gave a short speech, recognizing the talent of the Award Winners and the innovative spirit of the Italian business community. His presentation was followed by a short speech by one of the judges – designer par excellence, Karim Rashid – who emphasized the importance of shining a spotlight on design – because “the objective of design is to change humanity for the better”.
The Best of Show Award was presented by the Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo, to Qing Yan, a design student who also won the Gold Award at the Student Level in the Eating Category. The winning project concept was “Cillio” – a set of ingenious cheese knives inspired by nature. Qing is a Chinese citizen studying design at the Art Center in Pasadena, CA – and came to New York to accept the award.
While the evening celebrated design, the star of the food experience was PARMIGIANO REGGIANO® cheese which was sampled with great delight by the guests. The menu for the evening was developed by Chef Michele Casadei Massari, the US Brand Ambassador for PARMIGIANO REGGIANO® – who is also the Co-Founder and Executive Chef of Lucciola Restaurant in NYC.
A full showcase of the winning projects, accompanied by background information about the designers will be featured on the PARMIGIANO REGGIANO® U.S. website starting next week. Images and additional content about the Awards Party and the Award Winning Projects will be featured on PARMIGIANO REGGIANO®’s U.S. social media channels.
WEBSITE https://parmigianoreggiano.us/design-challenge/overview/
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