Georgian Cheese & Culinary Festival in Gurjaani
The city of winemaking and festivals hosted guests at Akhtala Park.
For the first time this year, the Cheese and Culinary Festival was held in Gurjaani. Within the framework of the festival, various events were organized for the local population and visitors of the city to promote Georgian traditional cuisine. One of the most important events was the exhibition of cheese and other agro products, seeing chefs cooking cheese dishes.
The event was opened by Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture Khatia Tsilosani and the Majority MP of Gurjaani Municipality Davit Songulashvili.
“Promoting Georgian agro products and establishing them on the market is one of the priorities of this Ministry,” Tsilosani said. “The Gurjaani Cheese and Culinary Festival is a good opportunity both for farmers to introduce their products to the wider audience and for the development of the region, enhancing local economic conditions.”
MP Songulashvili noted that the Festival aims to popularize cooking as a field in the region, which itself will significantly contribute to the development of tourism.
The event was attended by representatives of local authorities, restaurateurs, chefs, sommeliers and tourists.
The festival featured over 50 varieties of both traditional and ancient Georgian cheese recipes, as well as European branded cheese analogues produced in Georgia. The guests of the festival had the opportunity to taste and buy Georgian cheese and cheese products, different types of Georgian wine, sweets and other local products.
As part of the festival, cheese producers, Georgian and foreign chefs conducted master classes, introducing guests to the technologies of cooking and cheese making. A contest in making traditional Georgian dish Khinkali was also held, with the participation of the culinary competition Bocuse d'Or finalists. An ethno cultural space was also arranged, where the chefs from different regions introduced the technology of preparing traditional dishes characteristic to each region.
Within the frames of the event, various entertainment activities for children, as well as an exhibition of thematic photos and handicrafts, were also arranged. Local folk ensembles and singers added to the festive mood for the audience.
The final part of the festival featured a culinary show by the finalists of Bocuse d'Or, each of them offering creatively prepared khinkali to the guests.
The Gurjaani Cheese and Culinary Festival was organized and supported by the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia and Gurjaani City Hall within the program "Promotion of Georgian Agro Products".