Parma’s ‘Dinner of the Thousand’: tickets sold out in six minutes

Another record-breaking sell-out for the ‘Cena dei Mille’ in Parma. Tickets for the seventh edition of the event, organised by the Parma UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy Foundation in collaboration with Parma City Council , went on sale via Vivaticket at 10 am (at €150) and were sold out in just 6 minutes, “setting a new record after they had sold out in just under an hour in 2025,” the organisers point out, “with an audience that has never stopped growing”. The event has also taken on an international dimension: more than 80 tickets were purchased from abroad, from Australia to the US, via the UK and Poland.

On Tuesday 8 September, the thousand guests will take their seats at the table stretching some 400 metres, which will wind its way between Piazza Garibaldi and Strada della Repubblica, in the heart of the historic centre. The guest chef for the seventh edition will be the two-Michelin-starred Gennaro Esposito, owner of La Torre del Saracino in Vico Equense, who will create the first course, serving his “Mixed pasta soup with rock fish”. The four-course menu will be rounded off by a starter from Parma Quality Restaurants, a main course from ChefToChef Emilia Romagna and a dessert from Alma – The International School of Italian Cuisine. Esposito thus joins a hall of fame that includes, amongst others, Carlo Cracco, Norbert Niederkofler, Chicco Cerea, Enrico Crippa, Enrico Bartolini, Riccardo Monco, Davide Oldani, Iginio Massari and Giancarlo Perbellini, the star of the last edition.

As has become tradition, the evening will begin with an aperitif area dedicated to six supply chains of the Parma Food Valley – Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, pasta (Barilla), tomatoes (Mutti and Rodolfi Mansueto), milk (Parmalat) and anchovies (Delicius, Rizzoli Emanuelli and Zarotti): supply chains that are coming to the event on the strength of a consumer turnover of 12.5 billion euros in 2025 (+8.7 per cent on 2024 and +33 per cent compared to pre-Covid levels), with exports accounting for over 45 per cent. They will be joined during the evening by other local specialities: the Consortia for the Protection of Coppa di Parma, Salame Felino, Fungo di Borgotaro, Culatello di Zibello, the Traditional Piacenza Cured Meats and the Reggio Emilia Balsamic Vinegar, as well as the Wines of the Colli di Parma – which will produce a special bottle to accompany the dessert – and the unmissable presence of Coppini Arte Olearia. Destinazione Turistica Emilia will also be present. The courses will be accompanied by sparkling wines from the Franciacorta Consortium, a new partnership for the 2026 edition, as well as wineries such as Venturini Baldini and Il Poggiarello, alongside the confirmed participation of Acqua Panna and San Pellegrino. Long-standing partners are also returning, such as Bormioli Luigi, with a dish dedicated to the dinner, and Coccinelle, which will be designing the evening’s wristbands.

Once again this year, part of the proceeds will go towards charitable causes: in last year’s edition , 20,000 euros were donated to Emporio Market Solidale Parma – an organisation that supports around 1,900 households, comprising over 6,000 people – to help fund the purchase of an electric vehicle for the delivery of goods to over 200 families; this amount will be matched again this year.