3rd European Culinary Festival taking place in Azerbaijan

The 3rd European Culinary Festival is taking place in Azerbaijan, Report informs.

The event is taking place at the European Games Park and is organized by the Delegation of the EU to Azerbaijan jointly with the embassies of EU member states.

In his welcoming speech, Gediminas Varanavičius, chargé d'affaires of the EU in Azerbaijan, noted Ukraine's participation as a special guest.

He emphasized that the foreign guests were very pleased with Azerbaijani cuisine.

"This festival also features stands by three beneficiaries of an EU project supporting agriculture, particularly the horticultural sector, in the Lankaran-Astara economic region. The project is valued at 25 million manats ($14.705 million). Around 4,000 farmers have benefited from the project to increase productivity, and around 30 producer groups have acquired new agricultural machinery. Seven new brands have been created, the owners of two of which – Sahib Gurbanov with 100 kg of potatoes and Maharramali Zeynalov with 60 kg of apples – are present at today's event," Varanavičius said.

The embassies of Belgium, France, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine will introduce guests to their countries' culinary traditions at the festival.

The EU Delegation's stand will host master classes featuring renowned food bloggers Elmira Gadirova and Nazakat Jafarova. Local farmers will sell organic food products produced with support from the EU project.

At the event, quiz winners will have the opportunity to receive, among other prizes, a copy of the book "European Cuisine" – a collection of traditional recipes from 27 EU member states, published by the EU Delegation and translated into Azerbaijani. The book is also available in electronic format on the website of the European Union Delegation to Azerbaijan.

The event will also include award ceremonies for the winners of European cuisine culinary and art competitions organized on the Azeri Home Chef Facebook page. Dishes prepared by the participants will also be presented there. The festival will be accompanied by a concert by local musicians performing in Azerbaijani and European languages.