The Palace Hotel team has won the Gold Award for Parade de Chefs Best in Class at the MonteKristo Mediterranean Food and Drink Festival 2008, an initiative of the Malta Culinary Association. Their entry involved the preparation and serving of a three-course meal for 50 covers within four hours of its preparation.

The Palace team was made up of executive Chef Joseph Xuereb, Sous Chef Mark Briffa, Pastry Chef Gordon Galea, Chef de Parties, Reno Abela, Daniel Bonnici, Mark Zammit (head waiter), Quenten Attard (head waiter) and Patrick Mula (waiter)

The Palace’s talented team in fact won a prestigious 14 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze awards at the Mediterranean Food and Drink Festival.

This Festival attracted over 350 local entries from Malta’s leading hotels and restaurants and international teams from three continents and included Israel, Turkey, Cyprus and Azerbaijan. Several other Gold awards were won in the “Junior Practical Team” with Reno Abela, Anthony Hawkins and Fredrick Pulis; for the “Senior Lamb Dish” by Mark Briffa; in the “Junior Pasta Dish” by Anthony Hawkins and by the whole team for “Best Hygiene”.

The Palace team went on to win Silver awards which went to Gordon Galea, for the “Patissiere of the Year”; to Daniel Bonnici for “Senior Maltese Dish”, to Kevin Castillo for “Junior Fish Dish” and Fredrick Pulis “Junior Rice Dish”.

The Malta Culinary Association said that the Mediterranean Food and Drink Festival 2008’s aim is to create a chain of Mediterranean food festivals in which each organising country emphasizes the healthy and unique flavours each has to offer.

Each country with its

own particular gastronomic heritage and influence will help create a unique Mediterranean culinary experience which is an attraction in itself.

The participants competed and presented their individual selections which also included traditional and exotic culinary specialties, to the great enjoyment of both Maltese and foreign gourmets.