The final of the World Pesto al Mortaio Championship will take place on Saturday 4 June at the Ducal Palace. The event will be back in attendance after four years, but without neglecting streaming for those who will connect from afar. It will be an edition characterised by important novelties such as the presence of the IIT's Robo Twin, which will attempt to produce pesto al mortaio by imitating man, and the meeting with the Italian Society of Human Nutrition (SINU) on the prospects of our green sauce, by now a model of sustainability and modern food culture.
It promises to be a day of great competition and great celebration for the Ligurian community and beyond. In fact, the 100 finalists, selected according to the championship's criteria and entry times, come from all over Italy and the world and represent all age groups and professions.
In addition to Liguria, the competitors come from 11 other Italian regions, while there are 14 foreign representatives, the farthest from which are from Tokyo and Monterrey. The closest competitor lives in Piazza Matteotti, a few steps away from the Ducal Palace. 30 people, including non-Ligurian and international ones, selected for their experience, competence and activism in the world of food and territorial communication, will judge the competitors' productions. The event will be conducted by President Roberto Panizza and members of the Palatifini Association, TV presenter Beppe Convertini (for the 100 contest), actress Danila Barone (Children's Championship) and journalist Eva Perasso for the live streaming.
Among the side activities of this edition, two stand out in particular: the conference 'Genova porta della cucina mediterranea verso l'Europa' (Genoa as a gateway to Mediterranean cuisine towards Europe) that SINU (Italian Society of Human Nutrition) will hold in Genoa on the occasion of the Championship on Friday 3 May at the Chamber of Commerce, and the event organised with the Italian Institute of Technology 'Io robot faccio il pesto al mortaio' (I make pesto with mortar), where the robot RoboTwin will try to prepare pesto alla genovese (Saturday 4 May morning).
The other activities that will frame the race of 100 will be the non-competitive Children's Championship organised by the Consortium of Genoese Basil PDO, the Little Lollipop Choir that will perform the World Championship Anthem written by Buio Pesto, the philatelic cancellation arranged by the Italian Postal Service for those who want to keep a souvenir of the day, the Pesto Party dedicated to the awards ceremony, music and good food, and the presentation of the A'Compagna plaque to the competitor arriving from the farthest away, the information corners of Ligurian consortia and associations in the food sector, the Pesto Week of Ligurian restaurateurs participating in the promotion of traditional cuisine, 'Vetrine in Gara' the competition to decorate shop windows with the Pesto and Championship theme, 'Pesto Talk', the 'Championship Lounge', the 'Pesto Last Minute' training and coaching service, and the free tourist itinerary through the narrow streets of Genoa's historic centre 'Un'ora nel Centro Storico, tra curiosità e botteghe' (One hour in the historic centre, amidst curiosities and shops).
The Pesto Genovese al Mortaio (Genoese Pesto in the Mortar) World Championship is a unique and innovative invention and method for promoting Genoese pesto or basil pesto. In the last 30 days, 5,000 people have been involved, 1,000 of them with an explicit link to Genoa and Liguria.
Regione Liguria and the Chamber of Commerce are the main supporters and investors of the event.