Costa Cruises Promotes Pecorino Romano D.O.P. on the Flagship Costa Diadema
The company is confirming its position as an ambassador for Italian excellence, working with the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and the Italian Alliance of Agri-Food Cooperatives to organize four special events in April to introduce international cruise guests on the flagship Costa Diadema to Pecorino Romano D.O.P. cheese during stopovers in Civitavecchia.
Genoa, April 3, 2019 – Costa Cruises, working with the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Tourism and the Italian Alliance of Agri-Food Cooperatives, presents an initiative dedicated to promoting one of the most widely appreciated examples of Italian gastronomic excellence: Pecorino Romano D.O.P.
For a whole month, on board the flagship Costa Diadema, during stopovers in Civitavecchia on April 5, 12, 19 and 26, special events will be organized to promote this famous Italian cheese. In the ship's main restaurants, guests will be offered a taste of Pecorino Romano to sample before dinner. Furthermore, some of the dishes on the Lazio regional menu served on all Costa ships arriving in Civitavecchia will be pepped up with the unmistakable flavor of Pecorino Romano: these include mozzarella in carrozza (fried cheese sandwiches) on a pecorino romano fondue; amatriciana-style rigatoni with shavings of pecorino romano; redfish filet in a potato and pecorino romano crust. Guests on vacation on the Costa Diadema will have a chance to find out more about this cheese, its history, production and use, through corporate videos, brochures and recipe books supplied by the Pecorino Romano D.O.P. Consortium.
Every year, ships in the Costa fleet use around 10,000 kg of Pecorino Romano D.O.P. produced by five different Sardinian cooperatives belonging to the Italian Alliance of Agri-Food Cooperatives. Despite its name suggesting that the cheese is originally from Lazio, not everyone knows that 97% of this cheese is actually produced in Sardinia.
"We are again extremely proud to be supporting a great Italian product like Pecorino Romano D.O.P. – says Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises – Costa's ships are true ambassadors of Italian excellence. Every year, we give our guests, who come from many different countries around the world, the chance to discover high quality food and wine, which we buy from around 200 local producers across Italy".
"I have always said that if we wanted to support the sheep and goat farming supply chain, we needed to take concrete steps. The world of tourism is responding exceptionally well to the call for help we made to the business world during the crisis meetings held in Rome and subsequently in Sardinia. Promoting Pecorino Romano D.O.P. on the Costa Cruises flagship Costa Diadema is very significant and makes me twice as happy because it brings tourism and agriculture together, which is something I wanted to do in my Ministry", says the Italian Minister for Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Tourism, Sen. Gian Marco Centinaio. "Promoting excellent Italian products and taking them around the world is the best way of introducing our country. Pecorino Romano D.O.P. needs new markets in order to emerge from the crisis and become as widely known as possible. Initiatives like this can only be positive for the sector and for the Italian agri-food business as a whole".
"Cooperatives produce over 60% of all Pecorino Romano D.O.P. - says Giorgio Mercuri, President of the Italian Alliance of Agri-Food Cooperatives - and we are very glad that Costa Cruises has decided to involve our member companies as suppliers because it means they will always be at the forefront of promoting the product on its cruise ships. Thanks to the promotional and informative material made available by the Consortium of Pecorino Romano D.O.P. - continues Mercuri - Costa Diadema guests will be able to learn about the values, the passion and the simple and natural processes that have made Pecorino Romano DOP an excellence of our agri-food heritage".
Costa Cruises has been serving its guests Italian culinary excellence for over 70 years. The regional menus, consisting of no less than 520 dishes from 18 regions, take guests on a food and wine journey to discover the flavors of Italian tradition: every day, for lunch and dinner, a whole menu dedicated to a different region is available in the Costa fleet restaurants.
Costa Cruises
Gabriele Baroni – Communication Director – Cell +39 349 7668013 - baroni@costa.it
Davide Barbano – Media Relations manager – Cell +39 334 6525216 - barbano@costa.it
Press releases and photos available at www.costapresscenter.com
