The EU RICE Festival was held with particular success for the fourth consecutive year, on September 28 and 29, at Pier A, in the Port of Thessaloniki.
The EU RICE Festival (Festival of Sustainable European Rice Cultivation) was held within the framework of the European EU RICE program, which is implemented by the THESSALONIKI AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE (EASTH) and the CONSEJO REGULADOR DE LA DOP ARROZ DE VALENCIA (CRAV). The aim of the program is to raise awareness and inform consumers that rice produced in Europe is a sustainable and safe product, as its cultivation is done according to the strict requirements of the European Union. The Executive Organization of the Program is the NOVACERT company.
Important and extensive information from the representatives of EATH, but also of the agricultural cooperatives, about the dynamics, the sustainable aspect of the cultivation of rice in the region,
the safety of the agricultural good, which is cultivated in Greece and Europe, but also the strategy of the program to promote the product to consumers and professionals and to establish the stuffed rice as the Greek national rice dish. Despite the fact that the end of the festival on Sunday afternoon was earlier than planned, for safety reasons, due to the strong winds that were blowing in the area, both the attendance and the participation of the people in the events were very warm and impressive.
The program of the event included live cooking, of course with rice, by chefs of well-known hotels and restaurants in the city, professors and students from cooking schools, but also by the Rice Ambassador of the program in Greece, Dina Nikolaou. This year’s EU RICE FESTIVAL dishes:
- Tomato rice with foam, basil oil & seared eel, from Piramatika S.A.E.K. of Macedonia Tourism with Sofia Teftsi and Vasiliki Staikou
- Chicken pilaf, from Rice Ambassador Dina Nikolaou
- Risotto with truffle and mushrooms, by Sotiris Evangelou, MAKEDONIA PALACE
- White chocolate panna cotta with rice from Giorgos Sakoleva, Thessaloniki Association of Confectioners
- Spinach meatballs, by Kostas Elvis Markou, Academy
- Pilaf with textures of beetroot, blue cheese and pear, by Dimitris Kotsivos, Marea Sea spirit
- Mushroom pilaf, from Rice Ambassador Dina Nikolaou
- Spinach rice with asparagus, shrimps & ginger sauce by Apostolos Altanis, HYATT REGENCY THESSALONIKI
- Risotto with fish soup stock & fresh sea bream by Dimitris Pamporis, EKIES ALL SENSES RESORT
- Sarmadaki tempura with sour milk sauce & mint oil, by Athanasios Kalfa, ELECTRA PALACE THESSALONIKI
- Lettuce stuffed mussels with beurre blanc sauce, by Grigoris Katsanidis, Trizoni Exclusive
(Unfortunately we didn’t get to try the last 4 dishes due to the emergency stop)
This year’s EU RICE FESTIVAL was held in parallel with the 1st Rice Festival, an organization of the Greek Rice Mills Association (SOE) held with the contribution and patronage of the Delta Municipality.
In an adjacent area, 10 award-winning restaurants of the city set up their kitchens in the Port, creating unique dishes with rice as the protagonist, which visitors were able to source and enjoy. The program of events was framed by speeches by academics, agency representatives and nutritionists about rice,
rice games for the little visitors in the specially designed play area, musical groups, traditional dances and singing from cultural clubs of the Delta Municipality.
During the official opening of the events, a number of officials were honored with his presence, among them: the Deputy Ministers of Rural Development Dionysis Stamenitis, Health Dimitris Vartzopoulos the G.G. YPAAT Giorgos Stratakos, Thessaloniki MPs Stavros Kalafatis, Thodoros Karaoglou and Fanis Papas, Deputy Regional Governor for Development and Environment Kostas Youtikas, Deputy Regional Governor for Agricultural Economy Giorgos Kefalas, Mayor of Delta Municipality Gerakina Bisbina, G.G. of EBTH Panagiotis Menexopoulos, the President of SOE Georgia Kostinaki, the President of EDOREL Yiannis Arnautelis, the President of EASTH Christos Tsichitas, Konstantinos Giannopoulos, General Director of EASTH, Christos Gatzaras, President of Interprofessional Rice (EDOREL) and the First Agricultural Cooperative of Chalastra, the Vassilis Koukourikis, President B’ of the Agricultural Cooperative of Chalastra and finally the Reverend Fathers Dionysios, as a representative of the Metropolitan of Thessaloniki Filotheo and Iakovos of the Metropolis of Veroia, Naoussa and Campania. The presentation of the Festival was undertaken for one more year by the well-known and very beloved presenter, Kostis Zafiirakis, who added his own touch of liveliness to the event.
For more information about the EU RICE program visit the program website:
- Website: https://sustainablerice.eu/en/home/
- As well as the social media pages:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sustainablerice.eu/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.
- com/eu_sustainable_rice/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC59BTrs-47SS3aIzTnRF9Fw?view_as=subscriber
The executive body of the program is Novacert (www.novacert.gr), the largest consulting company specializing in the agro-environmental sector and the food sector,
while the implementation of the events in Greece has been undertaken by Chef Stories, Marketing & Gastronomy Consultants and Gastronomic Event Organization company (www.chefstories.gr).
