By Sourish Bhattacharyya

Ritu Dalmia, 32, chef-owner of Delhi 's top Italian restaurant, Diva, has been knighted with the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity.

The visiting Italian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Gianni Vernetti, gave away the award to Dalmia and a number of other distinguished achievers at an evening ceremony at the residence of Ambassador Antonio Armellini.

Vernetti's visit was the first by a member of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government, which came to power after the April general elections. Prodi, the minister announced, is slated to visit India in January 2007.

It is the first time that an Indian chef has been conferred with a state honour by a foreign government. The Indian Culinary Forum has been demanding that the Indian officials must also take into account the contributions of chefs while preparing the annual Republic Day honours conferred by the President.

Dalmia shares the honour with filmmakers Gautam Ghose and Ramesh Sharma, fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani, pianist Mehroo Jeejeebhoy, litterateurs K. Satchidanandan and B.G. Sidharth, and industrialists Rakesh Bakshi and Karan Paul. Also honoured were 90-year-old Luigi Jellici, a priest of the Don Bosco order who has completed 50 years of his ministry in India , and Stefano Pelle, the head of an Italian confectionary firm based in New Delhi.

Diva is more than a restaurant - it's a labour of love. Ritu Dalmia made her first millions selling slate to Australia straight after high school and got bored. She opened her first restaurant, Mezza Luna, in the early 1990s, but it was way ahead of its time.

Selling the restaurant to the first man who showed an interest in it, Dalmia took a break to develop her repertoire at a cooking school by the grande dame of the Tasca family, which owns the Regaleali wine estate in Sicily. Then she ran a successful Indian restaurant in London , where she discovered The River Café and was overcome by the urge to return home to start her version of the famous restaurant.

In the last six years, Diva has been upscale Delhi 's first restaurant to have a walk-in cellar, to serve verticals and to gift-wrap Umbrian truffles in throwaway prices. Diva's wine list is evidence of Dalmia's ruling passion and extensive travels. It must also be the world's best value-for-money list, with a Tignanello or a Sassicaia, or a Bordeaux classic, selling at prices that take everybody by surprise. It's the favorite of people who don't live off expense accounts, but even those who do, keep coming back because of Diva's foodie must-haves.

The Order, which was instituted in 1947, is awarded to Italian and foreign nationals who have provided a significant contribution to the development of friendly relations with Italy , reports the Indo-Asian News Service.

The award consists of a five-pointed star held by a red ribbon with narrow green and white stripes on the edges, representing the colours of the Italian flag.

Vernetti's visit is the first by a member of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government that came to power after the April general elections.

For more about Vernetti's visit, go to http://in.news.yahoo.com/