NUTRITION and the value of a Mediterranean diet will be the focus of the 2019 World Week of Italian Cuisine to be celebrated in Bahrain this weekend.
Held under the brand ‘The Extraordinary Italian Taste’, the event will take place with the support of Bapco and the Italian Embassy in co-operation with the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Palatifini Cultural Association and Genoa Municipality.
As a first for the Middle East, a mortar pesto world championship contest will be held in Bahrain on Saturday, at Darseen Café at Bahrain National Museum from 4.30pm.
Entry is free.
Ten challengers, selected from amongst Bahrain Institute of Hospitality and Retail students and Unido-supported young chefs, will compete to create the best traditional and authentic pesto sauce using the typical ingredients (basil, olive oil, parmesan, pine nuts) and the traditional marble mortar.
A tasting of pesto and other Italian products will follow, accompanied by live music.
The contest winner will be invited to the finals of the world championship in March 2020 in Genoa, Italy.
Italian culture will be celebrated on December 2 with an Italian opera concert in the museum’s foyer.
It will feature three young Italian talents from the internationally-renowned Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Italy.
The six great figures of Italian opera between the 19th and 20th centuries – Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, and Leoncavallo – will be adequately represented for an exciting night of classical music.
Admission to the special event, which begins at 7pm, is free.
LuLu Hypermarket will also run a special promotion week on Italian food products, from today until Tuesday.