The Mediterranean Food Festival will be held at the Eden Arena, which for this occasion will be transformed into a typical Maltese village, over two weekends: from 2 to 5 and from 10 to 12 March.

It is organised by the Tourism and Culture Ministry in association with the Malta Tourism Authority and the Eden Leisure Group.

The festival, now in its fifth year, is one of the regular events that promote Malta as a worthwhile experience rather than just another destination.

The stalls will be displaying food from various Mediterranean countries.

An added attraction to this year’s festival will be Ainsley Harriott who is the resident chef of BBC TV’s Good Morning programme. From there his popularity grew with Ready Steady Cook and Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook.

Ainsley is a charismatic, larger than life presenter with a philosophy that simple dishes can be just as good as fancy ones. Harriot, who will be in Malta in the second weekend of the festival, will be presenting two cookery shows and adjudicating a culinary competition. He will also be signing copies of his publications.

This year’s festival will again include a “Mediterranean Culinary Competition” open to local and international chefs competing for the coveted prize of the best Mediterranean dishes.

Amateur chefs and cooks will have the opportunity to compete for the honour of the best Maltese traditional dishes.

Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, speaking at the launch of this year’s festival, said that for Malta to be competitive in the tourism sector it should concentrate on giving visitors true value for money, adding that restaurants form a very important part of the tourism infrastructure.

“Maltese dishes distinguish our cuisine from that of other countries. At a time when we are doing our best to promote Malta as an experience, we should do our utmost to encourage our local cuisine. Enhancing and improving our cuisine will place Malta on the gastronomic map,” he said.