Culinary stars converging on Beijing for Italian food feast

Next week, Beijing fans of Italian food may think they've stumbled onto the set of Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?. Like in that 1978 film, a star chef with a grand accent can be found in every direction if you're eating in one of the capital's top Italian restaurants.

The eighth annual Italian Cuisine World Summit, a celebration of Italian food and lifestyle, is going on the road this year, kicking off in Beijing after a Hong Kong preview.

After an opening gala dinner at the Kempinski hotel's Via Roma restaurant on Tuesday, there are dinner events at five other restaurants in Beijing and one in Tianjin, plus a master class by master butcher Simone Fracassi (Via Roma) and a qualifying event for the Italian World Pizza Summit (La Pizza).