“SINTONIE”
FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONTEST

The best food pairings with extra virgin olive oil

promoted by
ICIF – Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners
in collaboration with the Olive Oil Masters Corporation – ONLUS

under the aegis of
Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of International Trade,
I.C.E. Foreign Trade Commission, Buonitalia,
Region of Lombardy, Region of Piedmont,
A.S.A. Associazione Stampa Agroalimentare,
General Italian Consulates in Brazil, South Korea, Canada, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, U.S.A.

Objectives of the Contest

Consumers’ choices are easily oriented when it comes to evaluate a food product with perceivable characteristics and performance; when these are not easily perceivable,  guarantees and certifications are required in order to trust the products. Moreover, consumers are even more demanding when such characteristics and performance are related to safety and health.
The gastronomic characteristics of extra virgin olive oils in particular, independently on their quality level, are perceived and appreciated mainly when correctly paired with foods, being olive oil a product that is not normally consumed on its own, but as a condiment.
To better identify the best combinations and the correct processing techniques for the different food categories, considering their characteristics and sensorial intensities,  it becomes absolutely necessary to rely on highly skilled, knowledgeable and experienced chefs.
Through the preparation of recipes it will be possible to set guide-lines and correct operative procedures useful to the culinary arts professionals and to offer the consumers solutions and reference points enabling them to appreciate at their best the values and characteristics of the most significant component of the “Mediterranean diet”, the symbol of Italian style and traditions.
Such need represents, by consequence, the most tangible instrument to enhance and spread the knowledge of those products characterized by high quality standards.

The Contest

The Contest will virtually bring together great national products and great international chefs’ skills, highlighting the importance of choosing not only a high-quality extra virgin olive oil, but also the one that better harmonizes with each single dish.
The participating chefs shall send and, if selected, prepare recipes of their own creation belonging to one of the 5 categories indicated by the organizers: meats, fish products, cereals, legumes/vegetables and desserts, pairing them with the extra virgin olive oil they deem the most appropriate.
The final evaluation shall not simply consider the best chefs’ best preparations, but the preparation where the recipe is most skilfully paired with the most appropriate olive oil. 

Grand Gala and Prize-giving Ceremony

At the end of the Contest a Grand Gala Dinner will take place in the wonderful setting of the Royal Palace of Venaria Reale (Torino), during which, in the presence of authorities and press representatives, the chefs who will have achieved the best gastronomic combinations and the producers of the oils used for their preparation will be awarded a prize.
All the best recipes and the pictures of  the dishes will be included in a special book where also the olive oils used during the contest will be presented.

Rules

Procedures for the participation of extra virgin olive oil producers

Art. 1) All the extra virgin olive oils passing a selective sensorial test carried out by a commission made up of ICIF experts and by he Olive Oil Masters Corporation, will be admitted to the contest. No contribution will be requested for this admission test.
All producers already possessing the Grand Mention diploma for the “Leone d’Oro dei Mastri Oleari” international prize will already have the right to participate without any need to pass the above mentioned test.
The oils will be divided into three categories, according to their different intensity:

• delicately fruity; b) medium fruity; c) intensely fruity.

Art. 2) The companies who intend to participate in the Contest must submit their entries within April 30th, 2008 for no more than two products.
For each  product, with the exclusion of those classified at the “Leone d’Oro dei Mastri Oleari” international prize, they shall send carriage free by courier, mail or other means to:
Concorso “Sintonie” c/o ICIF – Castello di Costigliole d’Asti – Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 10 – 14055 Costigliole d’Asti:

• An entry form duly filled in a readable way;
• No. 5 labelled bottles with a capacity of 0.75 lt or the equivalent amount in bottles with a different capacity, not lower than 500 ml for each type of product presented.

The selected products will be included as of right, free of charge, in the range of products displayed in the three ICIF olive oil cellars set up in Italy, in the Castle of Costigliole d’Asti, in Flores da Cunha in Brazil and in Shanghai, China.
Art. 3) The companies whose products will have passed the selection test will be sent a communication certifying they are qualified to be included in the list of the oils admitted to participate in the chefs’ practical tests during the preparation of their dishes, divided into different categories of foods.
To have access to the second part of the contest, seeing the shipment of products to the various Countries, the companies will have to send no. 10 non-labelled bottles with a capacity of 0.75 lt or the equivalent amount in bottles with a different capacity, not lower than 500 ml for each type of product, following the address of the Contest seat, as per Article no. 2.
All bottles will be codified by ICIF in order to guarantee their anonymity.

Art. 4) As to the shipping costs relative to the eight Countries where the food competition will take place, that is to say: Brazil, China, South Korea, Canada, Germany, Japan, USA and Great Britain a contribution of 100 Euros (VAT included) will be required, for which a regular invoice will be issued.
Payment shall be made by bank transfer, clearly specifying the payer’s name, to:

ICIF
Banca del Piemonte
Agenzia di Caselle
ABI 3048 – CAB 30290 – CIN J – SWIFT BDCPITT –
Current Account no. 80171

or by bank draft  or non transferable  bank cheque to ICIF – Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners. Payment and shipment of bottles should be made contemporaneously.

Procedures for the chefs’ participation

Art. 5) Each ICIF office in the world will see to the promotion of the Contest in its own Country and to gather the entries
Entries from the candidates will have to be received by June 30th 2008, including personal and professional information (first name, last name, place and date of birth, address and telephone number, e-mail address and resumé) along with a recipe servings 6 , where extra virgin olive oil represents a basic ingredient together with one of the 5 main categories of foods characterizing the different preparations: meats, fish products, cereals, legumes/vegetables and desserts).
A specific jury formed by ICIF’s and Oil Masters’ experts will select the two best recipes for each category in each Country and will summon their authors for the practical test.

National selections

Art. 6) In each Country, the chosen candidates will be summoned to each seat of reference to take their practical test. Each candidate shall prepare the recipe he/she presented bringing with him/her all the ingredients necessary to its preparation in their natural conditions (not  previously processed nor precooked) , except for olive oils that will be chosen after first checking their sensorial profile out of the products anonymously present.
An ICIF expert will check the ingredients’ conformity and supervise the preparation of the dish, that shall be presented anonymously and submitted to the jury’s judgment within two hours from the beginning of the test.
The jury will be made up of three chefs of great renown and competence, two food-and-wine journalists, a representative from ICIF and one from the Oil Masters.
The jury will evaluate the dishes by giving numbered judgments, according to the following parameters:
Taste-nose balance  from 1 to 30 scores
Oil-food pairing      from 1 to 10 scores
Presentation             from 1 to 10 scores
When calculating the final score for each parameter, the lowest and the highest scores will not be considered, adding up the remaining ones.
After the test, a dinner is planned, with the participation of local authorities and journalists, during which a certificate of attendance will be presented to all competitors and the names of the ones who ranked first in their own category will be announced. The contestant obtaining the highest score of all will be admitted to the finals in Italy.

Final test

Art. 7) Those who rank first in their own Country will be summoned for the International Finals that will took place in Italy, at ICIF headquarters in Costigliole d’Asti, in the second half-year of 2008. Beside the eight finalists, also the two participants who will have achieved the two best absolute scores after them will be admitted to the Finals, for a total of ten contesters.
Each competitor will be offered the journey to Italy, inclusive of tourist class air-tickets and stay.
Each participant will have to wear his/her chef’s uniform, bring a picture in his/her uniform and a resumè, to supply the journalists with the necessary literature for a correct information.
Utensils and ingredients for preparing the recipes will be supplied by the organizers, who will make sure that no other products will be used. Any non compliance with this rule will result into a penalty or, in the most serious cases, into the chef’s disqualification.
Beside the ingredients, each candidate will be supplied with the same extra virgin olive oil he/she used during his/her national test.
The dishes will be presented to the jury anonymously within two hours from the beginning of the test; each minute of delay  will be penalized with a deduction of one score.

Jury

Art. 8) The Jury, made up of experts, renowned chefs and Italian food-and-wine journalists, will evaluate considering the parameters used during national tests (see Art. 6) and will select the three participants ranking first, second and third.

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