A total of 25 Porsche cars, including both classics and the latest models, are expected to arrive in Malta on Friday aboard the Virtù Ferries catamaran.
The cars – Panamera, Cayenne, Cayman, 911, Carrera and Boxter, as well as two classic Porsche 356 of the 1950s – will carry Italian chefs and food journalists who will embark on a five-day exploration of Maltese food and gastronomy.
This will be the 10th edition of the Grand Tour of Taste, which has been described as a motoring, theatrical and gastronomic experience. It was started 10 years ago in Bologna on the initiative of the Arena del Sole, the city’s most prestigious cultural institution and the second most important Italian drama repertory company in terms of public participation and number of shows produced.
Porsche Italia is one of the main sponsors of the Grand Tour of Taste. This edition starts in Bologna on Thursday and travels down the Italian peninsula up to Naples. From there the crews will board a ship for Catania and from there to Pozzallo, from where they will cross over to Malta by catamaran.
In Malta they will embark on a voyage of discovery of local cuisine, picking products indicated by the chefs. These products will then feature in a Serata di Gola (a play on “gala evening”) and in after-theatre dinners with the chefs in a series of gastronomic events being held in Bologna in summer.
The dinners, held after the theatre performances, will feature dishes created by the chefs with Maltese and Gozitan food products and Italian and Maltese wines.
This year’s edition follows a three-year gastronomic twinning with Great Britain, two years of collaboration with Germany and three years of the best gastronomic products from the various Italian regions, the latest being Piedmont, and finally Slovenia.
During their stay in Malta the chefs who collaborate with L’Arena del Sole on this project will meet representatives of various institutions in Malta, food producers and winemakers besides leading Maltese and Gozitan chefs, in order to exchange experiences which will then lead to a regular meeting featuring Mediterranean gastronomy.
A number of local bodies have helped in the organisation of this project which came about on the initiative of the Victoria local council. It was promoted by the Ministry of Gozo, the Malta Tourism Authority, VisiMalta and Eco Gozo, and has the support of the Unione di Prodotto Città d’Arte Cultura of Emilia Romagna and the region’s department of European and international relations, under the patronage of the province of Bologna.
The number of Maltese tourists visiting Emilia Romagna has risen by about 48 per cent in the past year, while thrice-weekly Ryanair flights carry travellers from Bologna to Malta.
This weekend, however, around 40 journalists, accompanied by the director-general of Porsche Italia, will be arriving aboard their own cars, independently of the Grand Tour of Taste, to explore Malta and Gozo’s attractions and to report about their impressions.
Mr Gurioli is Malta’s honorary consul in Bologna.