Portugal's Fish, Flavors gastronomy event stars top chefs

LISBON, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The ninth edition of Fish and Flavours foodie event kicked off here on Thursday with a number of internationally renowned chefs participating.

Fish and Flavours was launched in 2008 and offers a wide variety of seafood as well as cooking shows, competitions, talks, and masterclasses, all under the theme of seafood.

A highlight this year is the sweet treats to be presented by some of the country's top pastry chefs.

Duarte Calvao, the event's organizer, told Xinhua the event was important both to promote the country's seafood cuisine and to attract tourism.

Calvao said around 25 percent of visitors were tourists, with the event strategically placed in Terreiro do Paco square in central Lisbon by the Tagus river.

"It's an easy and relatively cheap way for visitors to get to know the diversity and quality of our seafood," he added.

He pointed out that both chefs from traditional Portuguese restaurants and award-winning chefs would participate in the event, which received at least 25,000 visitors last year.

The program includes cooking demonstrations by Spanish chef Elena Arzak, who holds three Michelin stars, and by Tomoaki Kanazawa, a Japanese chef living in Portugal, who will show eastern techniques of preparing fish.

Calvao said the number of visitors during the event, which lasts until April 17, could surpass last year's figures due to the rise of tourism in Lisbon.