Seven chefs from renowned Algarve restaurants, with their teams, participated in the gastronomic competition of the 1st Gastronomy Festival – Mediterranean Diet, which is taking place this Friday, at the Algarve Hotel and Tourism School (EHTA), in Faro.
Each team had to create a starter, a main course, a dessert and a cocktail, to prove not only to the jury, but to a group of guests, which included the Deputy Minister for Regional Development Miguel Poiares Maduro and the secretary of State of Food and Agrifood Research Nuno Vieira e Brito.
The technical evaluation was carried out by a team of five judges, including two Michelin-starred chefs. A demanding palate and gaze, which forced competitors to apply themselves not only to the flavor and concept of the dish, but also to its image.
See the contest photos:
The presence of Government members at this event, promoted by the Algarve Regional Development and Coordination Commission, in partnership with EHTA, served to highlight the importance that the executive gives to gastronomy, due to the potential and transversality of everything that has to do with it. .
As highlighted by Minister Poiares Maduro, in statements to Sul Informação, on the sidelines of the tasting lunch of the dishes in the competition, gastronomy is not only about catering and tourism, but also other areas of economic activity, such as «the agri-food sector and products associated with the table, such as handicrafts». between others.
For this, an inter-ministerial initiative was launched, focused on gastronomy. “The goal is to have a set of activities that promote greater cooperation and synergies between different sectors. Each one of them has to gain, taking advantage of their promotion, through the others», considered the member of the Government.
“There are countries where gastronomy, as a set of activities, corresponds to 50 percent of GDP. This is an area of enormous importance, which we sometimes devalue,” he added.
UNESCO recognized the Portuguese Mediterranean Diet as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, following the application made by our country, through the representative community of Tavira.
“Here in the Algarve we have this instrument, which is particularly powerful to promote cooperation and synergies between agents in the region, as well as the mutual gains that each can have from the appreciation of gastronomy as a whole,” said Poiares Maduro.
The 1st Gastronomy Festival – Mediterranean Diet opens its doors to the general public at 19 pm and will include, among others, “a tasting of innovative flavors in the Innovative Products Space and Innovation Space, as well as the gastronomic exhibition – Senses & Traditions promoted , annually, by the students of the Algarve Hotel and Tourism School».
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues/Sul Informação
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