This was the first event since the signing of the collaboration agreement between the Malta Cooking & Food Association and Paneolio, as the official extra virgin olive oil used by the national team. The aroma and flavour of Paneolio, indeed a very distinctive feature, make it ideal to marry with any ingredient.

The team consisted of team manager Joseph Vella, chefs Victor Borg, Kevin Arpa, Paul Borg, Mark Gauci, Ronnie Caruana and Kevin Bonello. They were assisted by Adrian Bonello, Andrew Borg, Ismael Sammut and Andrea Bonaci.

On the first day, the National team presented their gloriously assembled buffet table that had to meet stringent requirements in culinary art and patisserie. These delicate creations, some as small as a thumb, were put together within 12 hours of continuous hard work by the team.

On the second day, it was all about banquet cooking. The national team trained up to four years for this particular category of competition, honing the same recipes to perfection. For the main course, the national team prepared a traditional Maltese rabbit, loin roasted with mushroom powder, shoulder stuffed with minced pork, mushroom fricasse and rabbit just to finish.