Palestinian women prepared cooking tools and ingredients at a hall of an institution in Gaza waiting for chefs from Italy and Palestine to cook traditional dishes in an event sponsored by the Ministry of Culture in Gaza.
Training meetings
The initiative was launched by the Ministry of Culture which organized training sessions about preparing Palestinian and Italian popular dishes at the Center for the Empowerment of Women in Jabaliya which is run by the Ministry of Social Development.
These meetings were organized by the Ministry of Culture which decided to conclude them in a different way. A team of Italian chefs managed to arrive in the Gaza Strip to train chefs how to cook Italian food. A team of Palestinian chefs trained the Italian chefs in return how to make Palestinian traditional dishes.
The training is part of the Palestinian-Italian Cultural Exchange Festival organized by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Italian Center for Cultural Exchange said Ahlam Al-Shaer the Director of the youth teams at the Ministry of Culture stressing that the ministry’s plan of culture exchange targets all countries around the world.
From the West to the East
The attendants tasted Palestinian dishes which included spices vegetables rice and pasta in different flavors. At the same time they tasted more traditional Italian dishes such as pizza pasta and other dishes they never knew about.
Al-Shaer pointed out that the Italian delegation asked to carry out the training in the refugee camps to feel the suffering of the Palestinian people explaining that chefs from both sides will carry out another training course about preparing Italian pizza and Palestinian Maftul.
Similarities and differences
The Italian chef Domenico explained the similarities and differences between Italian and Palestinian cuisines explaining that the Palestinian cuisine is characterized by the use of spices unlike the Italian cuisine while both share using flour in most of their food.
Palestinian chefs made Maqlouba which is the most famous Palestinian dish among the Palestinian people and they were waiting for chef Domenico to present the most famous dish from his country which is presented at happy occasions – as he said – and is known as Nuki.
Different way of preparing food
Semolina water and a little salt were the ingredients of the Italian pasta dish which Domenico made cutting it into small pieces and passing it over a wooden piece leaving his touches on it and presenting it to people who waited eagerly to taste it after adding cheese and tomatoes to it.
He pointed out that he learned from the Palestinian chefs the secrets of preparing the Palestinian Maqluba saying that he would transfer what he learnt to Italy by cooking this dish for his customers at his restaurant in the Italian island of Sardinia.
During the past years the Ministry of Culture has focused on exhibitions and food festivals that promote cultural heritage among peoples. Last year it hosted an Italian delegation and several restaurants to exchange expertise on Eastern and Western traditional dishes.
