What Is The Pesto World Championship?
The Palatifini Cultural Association established the Pesto World Championship in 2007, which now takes place every two years at the stunning Doge's Palace in Genoa. Nowhere on earth will you find a more authentic pesto recipe.
The tournament was established to promote, celebrate, and safeguard not just the region of Liguria and the quality of its ingredients but also the traditional and authentic pesto recipe that the Italians hold so dear to their hearts. A strong undercurrent of the event is the ultimate desire for Genovese pesto to become a protected asset and for UNESCO to recognise it as a product of intangible cultural heritage.
Participants from around the globe, from Brazil to China, compete in national heats. The winners of those heats travel to the Grand Final, where they compete alongside 99 other pesto makers. The 30 judges are chefs, restauranteurs, food critics, and professional testers. The championships are open to professionals and amateurs, and children get a look in with their own mini-competition.
One of the most exciting things about the championships is that every participant must work with identical ingredients and equipment. There is a 40-minute time limit, and blenders and food processors are prohibited. The organisers believe that Genovese pesto can only be made with a wooden pestle and marble mortar.
The limited ingredients mean the overall winner is judged not on their ingenuity in recipe creation but on their skill in working with the ingredients to produce the winning colour, mouthfeel, and balance of flavours.
The championship winner is awarded a €2,000 olive-tree wood pestle with a gold-plated handle. Although the winners tend to be Italian, this isn't always the case. In 2008, the prestigious prize was awarded to Korean-American chef Danny Bowien.
The World Pesto Championship president is Roberto Panizza, a charismatic figure who has become the face of pesto in Italy. He splits his time between running his restaurant, Il Genovese, his pesto company, Rossi 1947, and travelling the world promoting pesto to all who will listen.
Pesto World Championship Winners
2024: Mattia Bassi (56, Acquasanta)
2022: Camilla Pizzorno (22, Pegli)
2020: Pesto itself (Genoa)
2018: Emiliano Pescarolo (39, Genoa)
2016: Alessandra Fasce (36, Genoa)
2014: Alfonsina Trucco (84, Genoa)
2012: Sergio Muto (58, Calabria)
2010: Federico Ferro (44, Genoa)
2008: Danny Bowien (New York)
2006: Luciana Parodi (68, Genoa)