Basically perishable and precarious, cookery is paradoxically the most enduring type of art.  It is rooted in culture and history, thus representing a fundamental part of our civilisation.

Environmentally-affected eating habits are deeply settled in populations and, particularly in the Mediterranean region, they date back to the dawn of time.  For ages countless populations peopled the Mediterranean shores; very different from each other in terms of culture and of ethnic belonging.  The environment provided them with its resources, similarly the same all along the Mediterranean shores, affecting the blossoming of their civilisations.

A centuries-long experience of trades and commerce enabled the sharing and the dissemination of the different using methods of these resources.  The preparations of dishes and products were deeply affected by such a continuous and prolonged cultural exchange.  It is thus absolutely plausible to speak of Mediterranean cookeries, well aware one is not dealing with a whole of identical recipes in all countries, but rather with an often very similar use of resources of an environment presenting close ecological and climatic characteristics.

However, it is important to remember that the term ‘Mediterranean cookery’ is somehow a collective misnomer since such type of cuisine is characterised by a rich, regional, diversity; providing an endless variety of traditional dishes across the whole of the Mediterranean basin.  Each dish possesses a unique charm that reflects ancient culture and family traditions; delicately revealing cultural identity, regional and geographic overtones as well as fundamental religious and social beliefs.

Mediterranean cookery is a delicate concoction of abundant fruits, sweet-scented nuts, sun-ripened vegetables, aromatic herbs, plump grains and colourful pulses.  It is characterised by sparse red-meat but plenty of fish – produce of the Mediterranean Sea so central to the whole civilisation.  The highly abundant olive oil or other single-seed vegetable oil serve to enhance the sensual quality, colour, aroma and flavours that render Mediterranean cookery so appealing to those in search of healthy eating.

Over the last few years Mediterranean cookery in Malta has enjoyed a marked resurgence and there are a number of Maltese restaurants that serve a genuine blend of Maltese and Mediterranean cuisine.  When you are visiting the Maltese Islands we truly invite not to miss the opportunity to savour and relish Mediterranean cuisine – you will not be disappointed.