Greece’s Sani Gourmet 2014 Festival Follows The Silk Road, From Beijing To Rome

Sani Gourmet – A week of food and wine culture – 9-18 May 2014

The Sani Gourmet 2014 food festival that will take place 9-18 May at the Sani Resort in Halkidiki, Greece, will focus on world cuisine through the prism of the Silk Road. The long route traveled by merchandise between Asia and Europe, bearing new ideas and cultural influences as well as commodities, made a decisive contribution to the diffusion of new ideas and approaches in one of the most fundamental areas of human creativity: gastronomy.

What was the influence of Asia on Europe? How did rice, for example, evolve into a major ingredient in European cuisine? How did pasta and soya take roots in the gastronomic culture of each country? Do we use spices in the same way as Oriental peoples? What are the differences and similarities between us?

These and many other questions will be explored by the guest chefs at Sani Gourmet 2014, whose menus will illuminate aspects of the gastronomic trail carved out over the centuries along the Silk Road, starting in China and passing through India, Iran, Turkey and Greece (to mention just some of the important stages along the way) to end in Italy.

All these different cultures will be studied through the flavors and fragrances which, reflecting many different culinary philosophies, make up the mosaic in which each country is different, and yet all share many common features. And this will be the objective of Sani Gourmet 2014: to help us understand how food has brought together the cultures of Asia and Europe.

For the full program of the festival, press here.