Whoever loves food like me is always intrigued to try out new restaurants. Last week I had the immense pleasure to be invited to a “Taste & Judge” event at T’Anna Mari restaurant in Marsaxlokk, an event organised in a fruitful collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority, Mediterranean Tourism Foundation, Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and Thalass Glass Plates. The main objective of this exclusive, intimate event was to create an opportunity for all persons present to taste each and every dish carefully, and to give their honest opinion to the chef patron and his team right there on the spot. We were invited to judge each dish and comment constructively about its presentation, taste and overall experience on a sheet placed in front of us! The chef patron Salvatore Piccione and his team were really interested to get genuine feedback about their work and I was so happy to oblige. It shows true passion and confidence if you ask me!
I was wearing a full outfit by Mangano in Sliema Malta
All Photography in this blog is courtesy of Derren Vella at MaltaStreets Google Steet Photography
Lots of smiles with Tonio Cini MHRA Policy and Membership Manager
About T’Anna Mari
T’Anna Mari restaurant is a family run restaurant situated along the seafront of Marsaxlokk fishing village. With a welcoming team from Sicily who have spent many years living in Malta, the kitchen here is a combination of the best Sicilian and local cuisine. There is strong focus on fresh and regional produce which is further verified with the restaurant’s participation in the Slow Food movement that promotes organically grown regional cuisine. All the products used in their creations are researched and purchased for their good quality and taste.
Being family run, the service is exceptionally excellent. The members of staff are attentive and welcoming, you will immediately feel at home when you are there. You also get a professional explanation of all food available and prepared (in a mix of English and Italian language) as well as expert wine knowledge with suggestions on how to complement the food. On normal business days, this restaurant in Marsaxlokk Malta offers top notch genuine Mediterranean cuisine. Antipasti include red prawns, octopus in oil and lemon juice or marinaded anchovies – whatever the fishermen have caught that day – and the mains might be pasta with mixed seafood, or catch of the day.
This particular evening we had a number of set dishes on a set menu, as you can see in the photos, including a selection of breads, antipasti, pasta, fish and dessert.
Snapped with charming TV personality Clare Agius
About the Taste and Judge Event
This event? What an interesting mix of Maltese personalites, chefs from different hotels and restaurants and other foodies were gathered to give their opinion about this new menu by the Sicilian team. I was seated next to TV host Claire Agius and all I kept hearing were words of glee and excitement as she relished each dish and exchanged her opinions with me. We all had different opinions and that was so interesting to hear.
Pre-dinner drinks with Chef and entrepreneur Sean Gravin
The first dish was bread. Italians have high standards for their bread. Italians prefer their bread to have a soft and moist interior, which is ideal for absorbing olive oil, vinegar, tomatoes, and other select toppings and the olive oil selected was extraordinary.
Next up was the selection of appetisers presented in a circular Thalass glass dish followed by the seafood home-made pasta. I loved both these in terms of the display and the different food experiences. The pasta was so tasty. The fish was up next. It was very rich in flavour as it was cooked slowly and had a slight curry taste, so it was not my favourite because I like my fish dishes very plain. I was already extremely full by now, so I only ate a little piece of it and left some space for dessert.
After a quick break when the guests all stood up and did some live facebook posting and we all had a good laugh, I was so happy when a plate of Sicilian cannoli landed in front of me. These were served not the way we usually know them, filled with ricotta. Instead these were served sliced open with super-crisp deep-fried crepe. These are exemplary, crisp and creamy and splendidly adorned with candied orange, roasted pistachios and melted chocolate and served with mouth-watering fresh ricotta. Stupendi! I loved them and after a couple of espressos I was ready to leave this fantastic event to wake up for a very early photoshoot the next morning.
Moments like these are worth sharing. Hope you enjoyed this blog post. Big thank you goes to Darren Vella for these photos. You are a star!
Love to all!
XXX
Grazielle
Blogger & entrepreneur at www.graziellecamilleri.com
Presenter & Producer at www.maltatvchannel.com
