The first Mediterranean Gastronomical Encounter was organised over the weekend in Gozo. This encounter represented a feast of typical Mediterranean gastronomy.

Gastro Gozo 2008 was organised through the collaboration of the Gozo Council for Culture and the Arts within the Ministry for Gozo and the Associazione Tipico of Abruzzo in Italy. This first of its kind initiative served chefs, manufacturers and producers of typical foods, tourist operators to join administrators from the two organising regions who were promoting typical foods of their respective regions.

The opening ceremony, which was presided by the Minister for Gozo, Giovanna Debono, was initiated by a concert by Chorus Urbanus at the Gozo Cathedral. This was followed by a re-enactment from the times of the Knights of St John and the inauguration of a sculpture exhibition by renowned Abruzzo artist Paolo Spoltore.

At the inauguration of this gastronomical festival, which was held at the Cittadella Centre for Culture and the Arts, the Minister for Gozo, said that this initiative falls within Government’s vision for Gozo which is that of making it an ecological island. She augured that this initiative will serve to foster closer collaboration between Gozo and the Abruzzo and Veneto regions. The Minister referred to the existing twinning agreements already established between localities in these regions through which sectors such as the environment, tourism, historical heritage and healthy living are promoted.

The Presidents of the Associazione Tipico of Abruzzo and the Comune di Venezia also spoke at the inaugurating ceremony.

Activities included a seminar treating ‘Avoiding obesity through a Mediterranean Diet’, with the participation of local and foreign speakers, among whom Dr Corrado Pierantoni, an Italian nutritionist and the Maltese anthropologist, Dr Ray Debono Roberts. During this conference Minister Debono remarked that this initiative promotes the authenticity and genuinity of typical products in a world which promotes consumerism without giving due respect to artisan products. She praised the initiative taken in the organisation of this seminar during which the genuinity and the production of typical Mediterranean foods were discussed by expert gastronomers.

These activities came to an end with a gala dinner, with food being prepared by ten of the most popular chefs of the Abruzzo and Veneto regions, making it a unique experience for all the guests who attended.

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