Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/869387
11 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 2017 News ceipts of cooks on board boats of the Order of St. John," continued Gauci. These receipts provided glimpses of the cuisine then – captains' cooks asking for tagliatelle with pig's brains and Maltese fishermen buying 'bottar- ga' (salted tuna eggs) allowed curators to put together an accurate list of dishes eaten. "We're experimenting with these ingredients to bring the most authentic taste of 18th Century Maltese cui- sine," Baldacchino said. "The process has been going on for decades. Before we started, there were other historians who looked into the subject and we continued meeting other historians and building recipes piece by piece." For the team, the devil is in the details. Curators looked at paintings of Knights in the Louvre to pick out the pre- cise décor and cutlery for the banquet. "Tourists who come to Malta can experience our coun- try's gastronomy in an interactive, immersive experi- ence," Gauci said. Cuisine, he insisted, provides a point of conversation that can explain culture in an informa- tive, interactive and delicious way. French tourists, for instance, are always fascinated to learn that French king Louis XV was so obsessed with Maltese lemons that he bought a plot of land in Ħamrun to grow lemon trees, which he later imported to Versailles. "This [Parmesan ice cream] has brought together ele- ments from harbours across the world," Gauci said. dgrech@mediatoday.com.mt Curators looked at paintings of Knights in the Louvre to pick out the precise décor and cutlery for the banquet The elites of the 18th century also enjoyed some dessert. Baldacchino says ice-cream used to be enjoyed but the process was especially laborious, requiring ice to be imported, and then constant churning for the ice-cream to finally set ALL PHOTOS by JAMES BIANCHI A receipt of the items required for a Knights' banquet, and recipes used to recreate an authentic 18th century feast of flavour