Risotto features on the menus of leading hotels and restaurants all over the world. And while rice is a staple food for about half the world’s population, risotto remains a typically Italian dish. Originally a speciality of the Lombardy region, it has gradually grown in popularity internationally. Specially prepared risottos can now be enjoyed in countries far away from Italy, prepared by a foreign chef who remains remarkably faithful to the traditional recipe. And yet the dish is the subject of much innovation: risotto does indeed lend itself perfectly to experimentation, never failing to delight the palates even of the purists. So which is best: classic or innovative?

That was the question that led to the creation of a new contest, The Risotto Quest, devised by HostMilano and TUTTOFOOD, in collaboration with Emirates Culinary Guild, Dubai Restaurants Group and the Italian Business Council. The chosen venues were the best restaurants in Dubai, known for their high-quality ingredients, hi-tech kitchens and highly-skilled chefs: what better place to find great risottos?

The ideas the participants came up with all took their inspiration from what is surely one of the best-loved Italian dishes at an international level. Their risotto recipes were judged in two categories: Classic Risotto (the original Italian recipe made using traditional ingredients) and Innovative Risotto (using Italian rice together with ingredients not usually associated with risotto dishes, or typical ones used in a creative and innovative way).

The competition took place in several stages: on 12 October, the entry process began, with restaurants selected by the Dubai Restaurants Group and the Italian Business Council invited to take part.

From 19 October to 3 November chefs from participating restaurants filmed a video of their risottos being prepared and sent to the Emirates Culinary Guild, which uploaded them onto their YouTube channel.

Voting took place on YouTube where the preferences of the public were combined with those of the specialist jury (Naim Maadad – Dubai Restaurant Group, Amedeo Scarpa – Director ICE Dubai, Chef Uwe Micheel - President of Emirates Culinary Guild, Chef Michael Kitts - Director of Culinary Arts, Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, Massimo Falcioni – Vice-President Italian Business Council, and Donna Benton - Founder & CEO, Benton Group).

70% of the vote was decided by the jury of experts, with the remaining 30% decided by the public.

The four finalists were announced on 18 November. Chef Francesco Dimonte, of the Emirates First Class Lounge and Enrico Paiola, of Capital Club Dubai were selected in the Classic Risotto category; the two finalists in the Innovative Risotto category were Chef Mohamad Ali, of the Shakespeare & Co Restaurant and Chef Davide Gardini, BiCE.

The Finals will be held on 25 November, when the members of the jury will visit the restaurants taking part, taste their risottos and give their vote.

The prize for the winner of the Risotto Classico will be a trip to Italy to take part in the next edition of TUTTOFOOD (17-20 May 2021); while the prize for the winner of the Innovative Risotto will be a trip to HostMilano (22-26 October 2021).