Cucinapoli 2025- The Isaia-Pepillo Foundation celebrates, in the prestigious setting of the Grand Hotel Parker’s, a new stage in its commitment to transforming Campania’s knowledge into levers for inclusion, rebirth, and social development.
Cucinapoli returns and reaffirms its identity: not just an event, but a cultural and social project that combines the great Neapolitan sartorial tradition, Campania’s food and wine excellence, and concrete solidarity. The evening, which sold out in just a few days, brought together partners, institutions, businesses, and friends of the Foundation, all united by the same goal: to put the talent and craftsmanship of our region at the service of inclusion and opportunity.
At the heart of the 2025 edition were two achievements that testify to the real impact of the founding mission:
- a new hire at Isaia, the result of a training program aimed at young people in educational poverty;
- a new agreement with the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison to expand training and job reintegration programs for inmates.
For the Foundation, these achievements are not mere announcements, but proof that promoting local knowledge—from tailoring to material culture, from historical research to technical training—can generate new, dignified, and sustainable life paths.
A vision that combines tradition, culture, and social responsibility
“Cucinapoli renews the alliance between Neapolitan tailoring and Campania’s fine food and wine: an alliance based on values, visions, and love for the local area,” emphasized President Gianluca Isaia. “It is through this network that our mission takes shape: to build opportunities, preserve knowledge, and turn it into a tool for inclusion.”
The Avallone family and the Grand Hotel Parker’s, long-standing partners, reaffirmed their support, recalling how the culture of hospitality and cuisine becomes even stronger when it translates into solidarity.
Massimiliano Isaia, creator of Cucinapoli, recalled the heart of the project:
“When art, tradition, and passion are put at the service of others, something precious is born. Cucinapoli is this: a culture that includes.”
General Manager Tommaso D’Alterio highlighted the strategic value of the network built up over the years:
“The Foundation’s mission lies in its ability to connect different worlds—businesses, institutions, culture—and transform Campania’s knowledge into a force that generates opportunities.”
The projects: turning mission into action
During the event, two of the Foundation’s most representative projects were presented, both consistent with its mission to promote knowledge as a tool for emancipation:
- Tailoring and job training for prisoners in Santa Maria Capua Vetere: a program that recovers craft skills and opens up real employment prospects.
- Educational projects for minors in educational poverty (IEFP and FOSTEM), carried out with EITD and Fondazione Città Nuova: a concrete way of combining tradition and innovation for the benefit of the younger generations.
The signing of the agreements made the message tangible: tradition is not memory, but a possibility for the future.
An evening that tells the story of the territory through its masters
Two agreements were signed that demonstrated the concrete impact of the projects described: the commitment to hire one of the students participating in the IEFP course at the Isaia company and the new agreement with the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison after the launch of the new technical suits department.
This was followed by a Michelin-starred dinner at the George Restaurant (2 MICHELIN stars) with chefs Michelina Fischetti of Oasis Antichi Sapori, Salvatore Avallone of Cetaria, Domenico Candela, executive chef of the George Restaurant at the Grand Hotel Parker’s, and Michele Cannavacciuolo of La Torre del Saracino. The dinner was accompanied by wines from the I Cacciagalli, Luigi Maffini, Villa Matilde Avallone, and Feudi San Gregorio wineries, presented by the President of AIS Campania, Tommaso Luongo.
Between aperitifs, Michelin-starred dinners, and tastings, the chefs and wineries of Campania transformed the evening into a journey through regional cuisine and culture.
At the same time, scholars, artisans, and representatives of local communities discussed the value of research into the history of Neapolitan tailoring and new training courses related to creativity and the applied arts.
A system of excellence that, thanks to the Foundation, becomes an ecosystem of solidarity and human development.
The event closed with a concert by jazz singer Emilia Zamuner and words of thanks from Massimiliano Isaia, creator of Cucinapoli, produced with the invaluable support of Giovanna Virgilio’s Food Atelier.
The mission that guides the future
The 2025 edition of Cucinapoli closes with a clear vision: to continue building bridges between tradition and innovation, between the productive and social worlds, between young people and masters of knowledge.
A vision that translates into new projects, such as the creation of objects through the recovery of production waste, in line with a sustainable and “people-friendly” economic model.
