The event
“This edition of Ego Festival ends beyond all expectations” begins Monica Caradonna – journalist, TV presenter and creator of the event. “Taranto was an undisputed cultural hub and, for four days, facilitated a constant comparison between the various pizza cultures, between chefs from all over the world, as well as those from Taranto and its province who paid homage to the Slow Food Presidium Mussel, according to the vision that identity must be recovered and valorised. We have brought here a new way of understanding food, which can also be storytelling, identity and tourism. This week, the City of the Two Seas has become an authentic capital of taste and a major project on the world of pizza will start from Taranto. This will be a laboratory from which we will relaunch an important identity project” she concludes.
Starred chefs from all over the world on the Taranto stage
From Singapore to Holland to Japan. It is from there that, on May 9th, 11 starred chefs arrived in the city of Taranto. Here they immersed themselves in the scents of the sea with shopping at the Fadini Market and then the boat trip to explore the Mar Piccolo, exceptionally guided by some fishermen from Taranto; in the evening then the evocative night visit to the Cathedral of San Cataldo, to admire the centenary beauty of the Ionian capital.
“The Ego Festival was an unmissable opportunity to showcase the versatility and cultural richness of Taranto on an international level. But also an opportunity for enrichment and growth for our chefs and our food and wine operators. This success is an important contribution towards the renewal of Taranto’s image and its affirmation in the international gastronomic panorama” he has declared Gianni Azzaro – deputy mayor and councilor of the Ionian city.
The Ego Labs on the morning of May 10th featured enthusiasts and industry experts engaged in various workshops, talks and show cooking. Debates with a single trait d’union: sustainability and no waste. But also workshops on mise en place, tastings, insights into pizza and coffee which saw prominent personalities of Italian cuisine in the front row, such as Luciano Pignataro (curator of the 50 Top Pizza), but also Elisa Isoardi (host with Monica Caradonna of Linea Verde Life on Rai1) e Calabrian Peppone (historical face of Linea verde on Sunday).
Also on May 10th, Villa Peripato welcomed the new spin-off of the Taranto event – Pizza Festival: 25 pizza chefs, coming from all over Campania and Puglia, including Cristiano Taurisano (Luppolo e Farina, Latiano), Andrea Godi (400 gradi, Lecce), Miche Greco (Lievita 72, Gallipoli). Then, on Saturday evening, the Relais Histò hosted the appointment with the world’s stars of catering – the Incredible Dinner – in which the 11 internationally renowned chefs created dishes representative of their cooking philosophy, but contaminated by the influences of the Ionian coast.
Kay Baumgardt – Mamesa, Hotel Weisses Kreuz, Burgusio (BZ)
Giorgio Diana – CEO and founder of Dinner Incredible, Casa Fontana by Giorgio Diana, Taiwan
Tim Golsteijn – Bougainville *, Amsterdam
Dieter Koschina – Villa Joya **, Algarve
Pavlos Kyriakis – Gallina *, Athens
Francesco Martucci – 1st in the 50 Top Pizza, I Masanielli, Caserta
Bruno Menard – ***, President of the Bocuse d’Or Academy in Singapore
Kotaro Noda – Lighthouse *, Tokyo
Martino Ruggieri – Maison Ruggieri **, Paris
Massimiliano Sena – chef consulting *, Geneva
Giovanni Solofra – **, Campania
Not only taste but also art with the inauguration of the photographic exhibition “The Human Factor of the Sea”, born from the artistic residence in Taranto of two talented photographers – Matteo Bellomo and Stefania Zanetti: the relationship between the sea, the city and its inhabitants has found expression in the blow-ups, exhibited in via Duomo.
The last event then paid homage to Taranto with its gastronomic identity symbol, the Taranto mussel. The second edition of “Cozza in the City” kicked off on the evening of May 12th. Here 10 chefs from Taranto and Puglia have prepared their own creation with the mussel as the protagonist but, above all, with sustainability as the protagonist. Chef Nicola Gentile from Merak won the “Ferrarelle Sustainability” award. New to this edition is the “Ferrarelle Innovation Award” won by chef Agostino Sardone of Thalia. This concludes another successful edition of Ego Festival where Taranto, with its history of land and sea, has been able to position itself in the world of food and wine as an irrefutable reference in the sustainable evolution of cuisine.
