Using social media and other methods to spread the word, Parmigiano-Reggiano promoters are "trying to get people all throughout Italy to eat the same meal at the same time, sort of a virtual, national sit-down dinner in people's own homes, and to a lesser extent, restaurants," says Olmsted. They're calling it the biggest Italian dinner in history.

Organizers say the dinner is designed to promote the revitalization of the Parma region. Cheese producers there are still struggling because earlier this year, a series of earthquakes toppled shelves containing millions of dollars worth of the cheese, aged for two years in giant, five-story buildings.