Cooking Channel celebs to judge Miss RI Italia competition

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Cousins and best friends, Francis Garcia and Sal Basille travel the country on a culinary adventure for their travel lifestyle and food show “Pizza Masters” on The Cooking Channel.

The hosts of the show own Artichoke Pizza in New York City and Berkley, Calif., and grew up in a fourth-generation restaurant family. Together they travel from city to city throughout the U.S. to film about fabulous Italian eateries and their heritage and have just launched their first cookbook “Staten Italy: Nothin’ but the Best Italian-American Classics, from Our Block to Yours” (Hachette Books).

The Miss Rhode Island Italia Pageant, “A celebration of Italian Beauty and Culture in Rhode Island,” was created when Pat Paolino Cruz, producer and founder of such events as YOUR LIFE Expo, Mind-Body-Spirit Experience, former producer of Southern New England Women’s Expo, and of Italian heritage herself, was approached to find girls of Italian descent to participate in the Columbus Day Parade on Federal Hill. At the time there were no events that spotlighted Italian women and no one to represent Italian heritage in events like the parade, which is based on Italian culture.

After three years of accepting only nominations from girls, she decided to produce an event that would incorporate six separate age divisions. The first event, in 2014, was held at D’Vine in Providence and hosted by Barbara Morse Silva of WJAR. The 2014 winners included Nicole Brantolino for Little Miss Division, Alisha Ciunci in the Pre-Teen Division, Cinzia Provost in the Teen Division, Isabella Corcelli in the Miss Division, Tara Buonanno in the Ms. Division and Gina Sabatoni-Arakalian, who represented the Mrs. Division.

This year the event will be held Sunday, May 24 at the Providence Marriott Downtown. The pageant will be sponsored by Calma Salon (official hair and makeup), Ocean State Photography (official photographer) and Michael Lopiano (DJ, official music and sound). Rhode Island’s own Amy Diaz, winner of “The Amazing Race” and former Miss Rhode Island USA, will be host and emcee. Winners of the six age divisions will receive a beautiful crown, banner, gifts, jewelry and gift certificates from area restaurants and businesses.

“Rhode Island has highest percentage of people with Italian ethnicity per capita in the entire country, a fact many Rhode Islanders don’t realize. At the same time, we had no representation for our heritage at parades, events and functions. Our heritage should be celebrated in a beautiful way, especially here in Rhode Island, where the culture exists so strongly,” said Paolino Cruz. “I was surprised to be contacted by the show originally, but Italian heritage is based around family and food. We are excited to have the hosts of ‘Pizza Masters’ part of the five-person judging panel. Not only does it bring favorable promotion to the event which promotes our beautiful local Italian heritage, but it further supports the incredible hospitality industry and fabulous restaurants we have here in Rhode Island. We have so much to offer, they certainly picked the right state to visit!”

Rhode Island ranks No. 1 in the country with Italians per capita at 18.4 percent, edging second place to Connecticut with 18.2 percent and followed by New Jersey at 16.3 percent and Massachusetts and New York at 13 percent. Not only has Rhode Island been chosen by many publications to have some of the best restaurants in the country, but specifically, Providence has been named the fifth best city for pizza in the U.S. by Huffington Post.

For contestant registration information, to donate prizes for the winners, or to purchase tickets to the Miss Rhode Island Italia Pageant on May 24, visit www.missriitalia.com.

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