Sale&Pepe, Italy’s leading cooking monthly leader, presents a series of initiatives, free encounters, show-cooking events and editorial specials for a closer look – just a few months ahead of the biggest international event of the year – at the countries participating in the Clusters of Expo Milano 2015 and their culinary assets.

For the first time in the history of the Universal Exposition, during Expo Milano 2015 the countries participating in the event without their own pavilion will be grouped in 9 Clusters along 6 specific food lines and in three thematic groupings.

The country and the food, the origins and the uniqueness of raw materials and products, with traditional recipes, will be previewed by Sale&Pepe and its Cooking School with Tastes & Aromas From Around the World, a cycle of free events that will take place between 9 February and 27 April at the Un Posto a Milano restaurant in the Cascina Cuccagna. On each occasion one of the Clusters of Expo Milano 2015 will be presented, with special guests, cooking performances and guided tastings to discover the specialities of the exhibiting countries, also with the support of the Sale&Pepe chefs.

The Clusters of Expo Milano 2015 will be featured on the pages of Sale&Pepe with four specials in four consecutive issues, starting with the February issue. While salepepe.it will showcase an online thematic channel with background detail related to the specials with video recipes from around the world, interviews with the protagonists and photo-galleries from the events.

Tastes & Aromas From Around the World – the encounters

Monday 9 February: Bio-Mediterraneum: Health, Beauty and Harmony

Monday 16 February: Islands, Sea and Food

Monday 2 March: Agriculture and Nutrition in the Arid Zones

Monday 9 March: Cereals and Tubers – Old and New Crops

Monday 16 March: Rice – Abundance and Security

Monday 23 March: Fruits and Legumes

Monday 30 March: Spices – The World of Spices

Monday 20 April: Coffee – The Engine of Ideas

Monday 27 April: Cocoa and Chocolate – The food of Gods

The complete programme is available on www.salepe.it/expo-2015 e www.expo2015.org.

Follow the initiative also on social media: #saporieprofumi #Expo2015.

Expo 2015 SpA is the company that is organising and will mange the Universal Exposition to be held in Milan from 1 May to 31 October 2015. The company is engaged in the preparation and construction of the site of the Expo and the technological work involved. Over 140 countries from around the world have confirmed their presence at the event. For more information and updates on the theme of “Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life” and the activities of Expo 2015 SpA please go to www.expo2015.org.

Sale&Pepe is Italy’s leading upscale food and cooking monthly, and a point of reference for all those who love eating and are curious about exclusive and refined gastronomic delights, presented every month with an attention to detail and high quality photographs. In 2011, the experience of Sale&Pepe saw the creation of it Scuola di Cucina (a cookery school) with courses where young and old can learn to choose the ingredients and test their skills in the kitchen, guided by the magazine’s chefs and qualified teachers. The world of Sale&Pepe also includes the food portal Salepepe.it with Salepepe.tv, which features video recipes; the thematic specials Sale&Pepe Wedding, Sale&Pepe Veg, Il meglio di Sale&Pepe, and a series of illustrated books Sale&Pepe Collection.

Vittorio Castellani is also know as Chef Kumalè. Journalist, writer and scholar, he is a “gastro-nomad” sans frontiére: he has travelled the world and tasted and observed the preparation of food from all corners of the earth. He defines himself as a storyteller, and it is precisely for his ability to tell a story that evokes far away lands and aromas that Sale&Pepe has chosen him as a special guide to the Clusters of Expo2015. www.ilgastronomade.com

Cascina Cuccagna is one of the oldest farmhouses in Milan. After being abandoned for many years, a careful and extensive recovery plan, entirely financed by the Associazione Consorzio Cantiere Cuccagna, it once again opened its doors to the city in 2012. It has since become a much-loved meeting place that is the site for a range of different events and activities related to food, culture and the land. A place that re-examines the relationship between the countryside and the city and a centre for the promotion and enhancement of sustainable lifestyles. www.cuccagna.org

Un Posto a Milano – food, bar & accommodation at Cascina Cuccagna The menu and dishes are based on the traceability of the best possible seasonal resources from the countryside. Bread, pasta and desserts are all made on the premises. Many dishes are vegetarian and gluten-free. And the chef is Nicola Cavallaro. The rooms look out onto the courtyard of the farmhouse, and there are 16 beds in small and large rooms where people have been sleeping well since 1695. A welcome and food experience managed by esterni. The restaurant a nd bar are open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 am to 1 am. Closed on Monday. www.unpostoamilano.it