From April 11 through May 25, 2014, the Costa neoRiviera will be offering 12-day Mediterranean cruises with a special program dedicated to taste sensations in collaboration with the Universita di Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo: seminars, food&wine tasting, menus and excursions designed to savor the Mediterranean culinary traditions.
GENOA – Costa Cruises has presented its Costa neoCollection Mediterranean cruises. They mark the advent of “slow cruising”, introduced by Costa Cruises on board its smaller ships bound for destinations off the beaten track, combined with the Festival of Mediterranean Cuisine, a special program devised in collaboration with the renowned Universita di Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo (Cuneo, Italy), as a tribute to the extraordinary Mediterranean gastronomic heritage.
This academic institution was set up by Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food, a global grassroots movement created to counter the rise of fast food and work towards goals of sustainable foods and promotion of local small-scale producers that safeguard local traditions and high quality products.
The Festival of Mediterranean Cuisine, which will be held from April 11 through May 25 in conjunction with the 12-day “Hidden treasures of the Mediterranean” cruises on the Costa neoRiviera, is a unique gastronomic journey of the highest quality in pursuit of authentic taste sensations in the heart of the Mediterranean, in the very places where these culinary treats were first conceived: from Liguria (Savona) to Provence (Toulon), Catalonia (Barcelona), Sicily (Porto Empedocle), Malta (La Valletta) and Campania (Salerno).
On board the Costa neoRiviera the Festival of Mediterranean Cuisine offers Guests different events linked to the appreciation of typical local food&wine, staples of the Mediterranean tradition. There are food&wine seminars and tasting of PDO (protected designation of origin) olive oil from 5 Italian regions, preserves made from local orchard produce, as well as wines and sweets typical of the coastal areas and islands visited. In Salerno, for example, pasta makers from the Amalfi Coast will give a practical demonstration of the traditional method of preparing fusilli.
The homage to “Mediterranean taste” also involves all the a la carte restaurants and buffets on board the Costa neoRiviera: offerings include moscardini alla ligure (baby squid), traditional Provencal bouillabaisse, stoccafisso alla livornese (stockfish), coniglio all’ischitana (rabbit), crema catalana (low fat creme brulee) and cassata al forno (cake made with ricotta).
The menus consist of dishes and recipes selected in partnership with the Universita delle Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo and are designed to foster the regional traditions of the destinations visited by using local produce and specific ingredients
protected by Slow Food Presidia, such as Cetara anchovies and Conio beans.
Ashore, thanks to longer stopovers including overnight stays in Barcelona and night departures from La Valletta and Salerno, the Festival of Mediterranean Cuisine program gives Guests the chance to indulge in food&wine tasting, dinners in typical local restaurants and exclusive “neo experience” shoreside excursions for small groups of not more than 25 people, specially devised in line with Costa’s new “slow cruising” philosophy.
The Costa neoCollection combines great attention to detail on board with the discovery of cultural heritage and scenic nature ashore. On the ship everything is designed to allow each Guest to experience the cruise at their own pace, with more flexible dining hours in the restaurant, “lighter” entertainment and original services like high tea, brunch on days at sea, dinner under the stars or the new concierge providing assistance in the choice of custom-made solutions for shoreside tours and special services.
The 12-day “Hidden treasures of the Mediterranean” itinerary on the Costa neoRiviera, departing from Savona, and also offering the possibility of joining the cruise in Porto Empedocle, Salerno and Livorno, lets you discover new destinations – enticing and off the beaten path – in Italy, France, Spain and Malta.
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