Masia Still wins the international Best Tasting award at the World Food Gift Challenge 2024

The King Khalid University venue in Asir (Saudi Arabia) hosted the World Food Gift Challenge 2024 awards, a competition to recognise and give international visibility to high-quality foods, artisans and food-related crafts from the European and World Regions of Gastronomy.

The awards brought together more than 25 finalist products from different regions which were assessed by an international jury of food and tourism specialists to identify exemplary, unique food gifts against criteria such as taste, sustainability of materials, appeal, price, connection with their region and territory of origin, brand story, product creativity and innovation in technique.

The Catalan company Masia Still received the Best Tasting 2024 award with its box of organic balsamic vinegars.

Masia Still is the personal project of two Catalan entrepreneurs, Sandra Bujan and Toni Murugo. Linked to the world of the vine and trained in scientific disciplines, the founders bring innovation to their vinegars using wild products from their surroundings, infusing them to give the vinegars original organoleptic notes. 

From Sant Pere de Riudebitlles (Alt Penedès), they make barrel-aged vinegars traditionally at their winery using Penedès grape varieties. 

With the greatest respect for their surroundings and following organic farming guidelines, all Masia Still artisan vinegars are produced and bottled at the winery. They are smooth, balanced vinegars on the palate; the sensory contributions of the infusions surprise the palate: the freshness and delicate floral notes of thyme in the SILVESTRIS vinegar, the deep, meaty mushroom notes in the UMBRIBUM vinegar and the sweet, bitter cocoa notes in the AMARAE.

In the words of Sandra Buján, co-founder of Masia Still: "we are delighted to receive this award and grateful to the World Food Gift Challenge for highlighting and giving visibility to small artisan producers striving to make high-quality products. The flavours of our vinegars are a blend of tradition and creativity. We hope our customers find as much pleasure in tasting them as the passion we put into making them."

The other award categories were:

• Best Luxury Item, Khawlani Coffee Collection by Morooj AlShatery 
• Best Promotion of the Region, AlSuwaiqah Basket Set by Hanan Issa Al-Qahtani 
• Best Innovation on Tradition, Crocantessa – The Krokant of Lošinj by Moby Dick Gelateria & Pasticceria 
• Best Contemporary Interpretation and Design, Date bowls collection by Abdulrahman Ibrahim Al-Aboudi 
• Best Use of Local Materials, Tray with Ace of Clubs by Folk – Magda Masano 
• Most Sustainable Packaging, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (PGI) by Natura Rodos 

The three overall prizes were:

• 1st prize, Saudi Coffee Bean Pouch by Zainab Al Kulib 
• 2nd prize, Flavours of Latitude Iche by producers on the Latitude Iche Route 
• 3rd prize, Dry-stone hut by Marc Marcet (Menorca, European Region of Gastronomy awarded 2022).

Promoting the activities of Catalonia, World Region of Gastronomy 2025

As part of these awards, theIGCAT Symposium and Platform Meeting was held, with the participation of Prodeca's director, Ramon Sentmartí, who gave a presentation on Catalonia's agri-food and culinary landscape, as well as the legacy of Catalonia as European Region of Gastronomy in 2016 and the work under way towards Catalonia, World Region of Gastronomy 2025. The symposium brought together around a hundred experts from various countries, with particular attention to the Asir region (Saudi Arabia), which holds the World Region of Gastronomy title this year, and the Manabí region (Ecuador), which will hold it in 2026. Asir, Catalonia and Manabí are the first three regions nominated as World Regions of Gastronomy.