Participating for the first time at Girotonno competition, Lebanon was rewarded with the first prize. “Girotonno - men, stories and flavours along the routes of tuna”. The 6 participating countries were:  Italy, Japan, Peru, Spain, Tunisia and Lebanon.

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Lebanon was represented by chef Jo Barza (Chase restaurant) and chef Kamil Bouloot (Roatana cafe). This event was organized by souk el tayeb as part of its educational and informational projects.

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Girotonno, at its 2nd edition as world competition, took place at Carloforte, a charming port on the Isle of San Pietro; the island is world wide known for its tuna, one of the best in the world, still fished in the old traditional way - “mattanza”. Here the ancient tradition of the ‘tonnara’, tuna-fishing nets is still now practiced in the way it has been handed down by word of mouth, from rais to rais (fishers chief) and from tuna fisher to tuna fisher.

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The festival is centred in an international competition with a basis of tuna, attracting 40 thousand visitors a day.

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The jury was composed from 15 of the best food writers and journalists in Italy and abroad – licia granello (“i sapori” pages of la republica), miriam murphy (food writer of Gourmet magazine), enzo vizzari (editor of Espresso guide). “a perfect balance between heart, intelligence and creation, a mix between tradition and modernity, elegance and warmth” ... this is how the Lebanese dish was described by the jury, and considered as the surprise of the event. The dish was composed of slices of tuna marinated in spices of chawarma, on a mille-feuilles of “selek b’zeit”, and tabouleh.

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