5-day Corfu Food & Wine Festival almost with us – come and enjoy the taste of Corfu!
festival
04 May 2018
/ 08:41
CORFU. A 5-day culinary feast awaits tens of thousands of visitors to Corfu as well as residents – Greek and foreign. In the island’s restaurants, village squares and the largest square in Greece – Spianada, they will be able to experience the history of Corfu cuisine from Homeric times to the present day and discover modern creative trends and new products.
The best chefs on the island, the Corfu Chefs Club, restauranteurs and hoteliers along with the valuable help of students at the School of Tourism are preparing the first Food & Wine Festival on the island where the first table was laid for a stranger – Odysseus (Ulysses).
Corfu’s multiculturism can be clearly seen in this festival with the participation of well-known chefs and global trends. The distinguished Russian chef Rashid Rakhmanov, ambassador for the Peruvian-Japanese Nikkei cuisine, will join with Spyros Voulisma and together they will take us on an unforgettable culinary journey from Peru to Corfu via the Urals.
The well-known Venetian chef Giuseppe Galardi, owner of the traditional Osteria Ai Assassini in the heart of Venice, will be looking at the Venetian influences in Corfu and presenting dishes inspired by the common culture of both peoples. The event is being co-organized with the Marco Polo System, an organization with twenty years’ experience in coordinating European and in particular, Mediterranean, cultural programmes as part of MedTaste, a pilot project in the international European Silk Road network.
The President of the International Centre of Wine and Gastronomy, based in Moscow, Leonid Gelibterman, will be tasting the wines of Corfu and the Ionian Islands and passing on the latest news regarding culinary tourism from the World Tourism Organization, of which he is a member.
Jane Mortensen, chef at the British Embassy in Athens, will be reminding us of the origins of some popular Corfu items such as pudding, tzitzibira (ginger beer) and fish in a packet.
The Festival is being co-organized by: the Ionian Islands Regional Authority (Corfu area), the Municipality of Corfu, the Ionian University, the Chamber of Commerce, the Hoteliers Union, the Federation of Tourist Accommodation Businesses, the Association of Corfu Travel Agencies, Corfu Port Authority, the Association of Restaurant and Related Professions, the Chefs Club and the Professional Tourist Guides Union of the Ionian Islands and Western Greece. It is being held under the auspices of The Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and FedHATTA. The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) is Media Sponsor.
The aim of the festival is to promote the local cuisine as a major part of the history and culture of Corfu and the Ionian Islands – as is well-known, the first recorded reference to the social aspect of gastronomy was in the hospitality offered to Odysseus on the island of Phaeacians.
The festival is being promoted internationally in collaboration with GNTO and the Visit Greece campaign so as to attract visitors in a period of low demand and contribute to the Ministry of Tourism’s strategy of tourism 365 days a year, as well as to promote local producers and products. Journalists have been invited to the festival along with distinguished international personalities from the fields of gastronomy and tourism.
The participation of nearly all of the public, production, tourism and professional bodies in Corfu along with the support of the Ministry of Tourism via GNTO and the Visit Greece platform shows how important an opportunity it is to increase tourist arrivals at the beginning of the season.
The innovative inclusion of Homeric cuisine is a strategy developed by Corfu Municipality, the Ionian University and the Ministry of Tourism and will be organized with the support of the Ionian Islands Regional Administration and other Ionian Municipalities.
The international aspect of the festival comes from the participation of organizations and personalities such as the International Centre of Wine and Gastronomy, based in Moscow, the Venetian Marco Polo System and the British Embassy in Athens.
There are a large number of events in the programme and they are continuously being added to. Some of the highlights can be seen here:
Wednesday 9th May
The festival begins on Wednesday evening in the central Spianada Square, where members of Corfu Chefs Club will cook and present some traditional Corfu dishes to members of the public – pastitsada, bourdeto, bianco and many other Corfu ‘brands’ will be on show accompanied by local wine and beer.
Local producers will exhibit their products and businesses and local music and dance groups will be performing and reinforcing Corfu’s cultural identity.
Thursday 10th May
10:00 – Cookery Seminar. Russian chef Rashid Rakhmanov will be giving a Master Class at the state School of Tourism.
19:00 – Traditional village fair in Gimari.
21:00 – Poetry & Wine Evening.
Friday 11th May
11:00 – Excursion with chefs and other special guests to take in nature, history and local products.
19:00 – Village fair in Benitses.
Saturday 12th May
11:00 – International Culinary Get-Together in the Palace Gardens with all those involved in the festival for a meal based on Homeric Cuisine.
19:00 – Taste of Corfu in Kinopiastes.
19:00 – British Walk – Covering parts of the old town which clearly show British influence as well as points of British culinary interest.
Sunday 13th May
12:00 – The connection between British brunch and the Greek ‘dekatiano’ (mid-morning snack). The nutritional benefits, culture and sociability that develops from an extended breakfast.
Corfu’s multiculturism can be clearly seen in this festival with the participation of well-known chefs and global trends. The distinguished Russian chef Rashid Rakhmanov, ambassador for the Peruvian-Japanese Nikkei cuisine, will join with Spyros Voulisma and together they will take us on an unforgettable culinary journey from Peru to Corfu via the Urals.
The well-known Venetian chef Giuseppe Galardi, owner of the traditional Osteria Ai Assassini in the heart of Venice, will be looking at the Venetian influences in Corfu and presenting dishes inspired by the common culture of both peoples. The event is being co-organized with the Marco Polo System, an organization with twenty years’ experience in coordinating European and in particular, Mediterranean, cultural programmes as part of MedTaste, a pilot project in the international European Silk Road network.
The President of the International Centre of Wine and Gastronomy, based in Moscow, Leonid Gelibterman, will be tasting the wines of Corfu and the Ionian Islands and passing on the latest news regarding culinary tourism from the World Tourism Organization, of which he is a member.
Jane Mortensen, chef at the British Embassy in Athens, will be reminding us of the origins of some popular Corfu items such as pudding, tzitzibira (ginger beer) and fish in a packet.
The Festival is being co-organized by: the Ionian Islands Regional Authority (Corfu area), the Municipality of Corfu, the Ionian University, the Chamber of Commerce, the Hoteliers Union, the Federation of Tourist Accommodation Businesses, the Association of Corfu Travel Agencies, Corfu Port Authority, the Association of Restaurant and Related Professions, the Chefs Club and the Professional Tourist Guides Union of the Ionian Islands and Western Greece. It is being held under the auspices of The Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and FedHATTA. The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) is Media Sponsor.
The aim of the festival is to promote the local cuisine as a major part of the history and culture of Corfu and the Ionian Islands – as is well-known, the first recorded reference to the social aspect of gastronomy was in the hospitality offered to Odysseus on the island of Phaeacians.
The festival is being promoted internationally in collaboration with GNTO and the Visit Greece campaign so as to attract visitors in a period of low demand and contribute to the Ministry of Tourism’s strategy of tourism 365 days a year, as well as to promote local producers and products. Journalists have been invited to the festival along with distinguished international personalities from the fields of gastronomy and tourism.
The participation of nearly all of the public, production, tourism and professional bodies in Corfu along with the support of the Ministry of Tourism via GNTO and the Visit Greece platform shows how important an opportunity it is to increase tourist arrivals at the beginning of the season.
The innovative inclusion of Homeric cuisine is a strategy developed by Corfu Municipality, the Ionian University and the Ministry of Tourism and will be organized with the support of the Ionian Islands Regional Administration and other Ionian Municipalities.
The international aspect of the festival comes from the participation of organizations and personalities such as the International Centre of Wine and Gastronomy, based in Moscow, the Venetian Marco Polo System and the British Embassy in Athens.
There are a large number of events in the programme and they are continuously being added to. Some of the highlights can be seen here:
Wednesday 9th May
The festival begins on Wednesday evening in the central Spianada Square, where members of Corfu Chefs Club will cook and present some traditional Corfu dishes to members of the public – pastitsada, bourdeto, bianco and many other Corfu ‘brands’ will be on show accompanied by local wine and beer.
Local producers will exhibit their products and businesses and local music and dance groups will be performing and reinforcing Corfu’s cultural identity.
Thursday 10th May
10:00 – Cookery Seminar. Russian chef Rashid Rakhmanov will be giving a Master Class at the state School of Tourism.
19:00 – Traditional village fair in Gimari.
21:00 – Poetry & Wine Evening.
Friday 11th May
11:00 – Excursion with chefs and other special guests to take in nature, history and local products.
19:00 – Village fair in Benitses.
Saturday 12th May
11:00 – International Culinary Get-Together in the Palace Gardens with all those involved in the festival for a meal based on Homeric Cuisine.
19:00 – Taste of Corfu in Kinopiastes.
19:00 – British Walk – Covering parts of the old town which clearly show British influence as well as points of British culinary interest.
Sunday 13th May
12:00 – The connection between British brunch and the Greek ‘dekatiano’ (mid-morning snack). The nutritional benefits, culture and sociability that develops from an extended breakfast.
