Every time is a new adventure : we ship mortars and pestles anywhere in the world , we send official aprons and ingredients , we sneak basil inside the suitcase and then we keep our fingers crossed that the mortars arrive on time and the basil in the journey does not wilt too much. And then? And then it ends always with big success. And in Belfast, more precisely in Bushmills at the visitor center of the “Giant’s Causeway” (the natural site in Northern Ireland registered among UNESCO world heritage list) was not only a success but a great opportunity to meet and exchange cultures.

The “Giant’s Causeway ” is a magical place. During the Genoese Pesto evening, we enjoyed with music and local dances, thanks to the young and talented dancers of Innova Irish Dance Company and to the beautiful melodies of the harp played by the musician Mary Mc Gowan.
10 competitors took part in Pesto competition. They are chefs, students, farmers and food producers. They were so good, struggling for the first time with a mortar and pestle, preparing our sauce so much beloved all over the world. After having carefully followed the preparation performed by Gianni Arimondo of Palatifini , competitors prepared a Pesto , on average, of a very high quality .
The winner is Clare Rainey, she is a food producer and she will come to in Genoa for the World Championships in March 29, 2014 . In second place was the real estate agent John Minnis and in third place the chef Sanjay Raghav. The other competitors who took part in the competition were: Antonio Iannelli, Richard Brown, Kevin Osborne, Charlie Cole, Neil Cooper, Fritz Machala and Joery Castel.
The jury was composed by Gianni Arimondo and Sara Di Paolo for the Association Palatifini, the food producer Jilly Dougan and Michele Shirlow, responsible for GoodFoodNI , that we really thank for their helpfulness, collaboration and friendliness. A special thanks to Magne Haugseng , our ” Ambassador of the Championship ” in Northern Ireland who made the event possible and also to Cara McShane , chairman of the City Council, and Anna Doherty, manager of the Chamber of Commerce in Londonderry, for their kind and cordial welcome .
See the pictures of the event!