Novigrad promotes a Mediterranean diet based on foods from the sea

"Che fine!" - that's what we say in our region when the food is delicious, and that's also the name of the Novigrad project with the aim of encouraging local residents to prepare dishes based on fish and other marine organisms as often as possible, and for the whole family to enjoy delicious and healthy Mediterranean dishes. 

Coordinator Tourist Board of the City of Novigrad - Cittanova and partner in the project Novigrad City Library during the pandemic "standstill" they designed a series of educational activities with which they applied to the competition of the Local Action Group for Fisheries - FLAG "Pinna nobilis" in 2020 and for which the Directorate for Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture awarded them grants from the European Maritime Fund and fishing. 

Thanks to the project CHE FINO - Choose Health and Eat Fish in NOvigrad / Choose health and eat fish in Novigrad, are carried out this spring educational and creative workshops for preschool and school children from the area of ​​Novigrad.

Children learn about importance healthy diet on the basis of fish and other marine organisms which are caught in our area thanks to the experts of the Institute of Public Health of the Istrian County, then they create works of art, write compositions and get to know marine organisms live thanks to the interactive and very interesting workshops of the famous Istrian marine biologist Neven Iveša, a professor from the University of Pula.

His workshops will also be held during the warm months in the center of Novigrad.

In order for children, as well as their parents, to have something finely prepared with seafood on their plate for lunch as often as possible, you need to create a habit and be engaged and creative in the kitchen when preparing food.

Therefore, professional chefs from educational institutions and catering facilities are organized for the citizens free educational cooking workshops where you learn new and simple recipes that refute the myth that it is difficult to prepare a quick, filling and tasty meal based on proteins from the Adriatic Sea. 

Creation of educational video recipes is the next content part of the project, and the production is being carried out on these sunny spring days in order to be able to film excellent chefs from the Novigrad area who were happy to share their knowledge and their delicious recipes based on fish and other marine organisms in attractive locations by the sea in Novigrad.

Thus, all fish lovers will be able to educate themselves with video recipes for the dishes they prepare Mattea Beletić, Marina Gaši, David Skoko, Marko Botić i Ivan Ergović and learn a lot more from a nutritionist, sommelier and marine biologist. 

Instructions for preparing their specialties will be published in recipe book which will contain i traditional recipes which for decades guarded by Novigrad housewives i caterers and debt information tradition of eating food from the sea in northwestern Istria. 

While the CHE FINO project is still ongoing, all the activities of the first FLAG project are at the very end FishInNO – Fishing tradition in Novigrad / Novigrad fishing tradition tourist board and the City of Novigrad – Cittanova.

You can notice it on the streets of Novigrad digital info totems which will tell all the guests of the city for years stories from the long fishing tradition of the city, and the press will be sent soon brochure about Novigrad's fishing tradition, in which you will be able to read the confessions of hard-working fishermen from Novigrad, eternal lovers of the sea and their hard work.

A new cultural and historical attraction will further emphasize the fishing tradition at the end of the summer, which will be enjoyed by fans of museums and exhibitions. The extension of the exhibition space is underway, where a modern presentation of exhibits that were once necessary for catching fish and feeding the population of Novigrad will be exhibited.

The story will develop around a batana, a wooden ship with a sail, which will be the central part of the permanent exhibition. It will be the starting point for the development of the whole story about the territory, people, traditions and local stories.

Photo: TZG Novigrada-Cittanova 

The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.