The rules
Who can register?
The Championship is open to anyone of legal age from any country in the world.
The maximum number of participants is 100: approximately 50% from Liguria, 25% from the rest of Italy, and 25% from the rest of the world.
Participants will be selected in order of registration, unless they have participated in and won one of the qualifying rounds.
Contestants’ code of conduct
During the competition, participants must wear the Championship uniform (apron and cap) and use only the ingredients and tools provided by the organization to prepare the pesto, with the exception of those who have requested to use their own mortar.
The ingredients provided, in accordance with the regulations of the Genovese Pesto Consortium, are Genovese basil PDO from the Ligurian Riviera, Mediterranean/Italian pine nuts, garlic from Vessalico (Imperia), Parmigiano Reggiano PDO, Fiore Sardo cheese, sea salt from the salt pans of Trapani, and extra virgin olive oil PDO Riviera Ligure.
No other ingredients are allowed.
Conduct of the Competition
The President of the Palatifini Association opens the competition with the traditional “ready, pesto, go.” From that moment, each participant has a maximum of 40 minutes to prepare the pesto to the best of their experience and ability. When the time is up, the competitors have to stop what they are doing.
The competitors are divided into 10 groups of 10, each evaluated by a committee composed of at least 3 judges. Each jury committee selects the best competitor from the group. The ten finalists compete in a second competition, which is similar to the preliminary round, at the end of which the best pesto is selected.
The 10 finalists are judged by all the jury members.
The jury
The jury is composed of the President of the Palatifini Association and a minimum of 30 carefully selected professionals, including chefs, culinary experts, journalists, and opinion leaders in the sector, who follow a code of ethics based on knowledge of the subject and the use of an evaluation form that takes into account five factors: manual skill, appearance, finesse, consistency, and balance of flavors.
The jury is divided into ten committees of at least three tasters each. Each committee judges the pesto prepared by a maximum of ten competitors. The President of the Jury has the final say in the event of disputes between the judges. The winner of the previous edition is automatically part of the jury.
Evaluation Criteria
The prize will be awarded to the best pesto prepared in a mortar during the competition, judged according to parameters calculated on the basis of the evaluation form held by each judge. The evaluation criteria are, in order of importance: manual skill, color, fineness, consistency, and balance between the ingredients.
Awards and recognitions
The World Championship of Genoese Pesto made with a mortar and pestle offers a single prize, awarded to the best Genoese pesto prepared with a mortar and pestle during the competition.
Each participant receives a certificate of participation.
The prize for the World Champion of Genoese Pesto made with a mortar, in addition to glory and worldwide fame, is an olive wood pestle with a gold-plated handle worth approximately €3,000.