Sweets festival captivates Sheki

By Amina Nazarli - AzerNews 

The second International Festival of National Sweets wrapped up in beautiful city of Sheki on July 20.

The festival, which took place at the Olympic Sports Complex, brought together pastry chefs from 11 countries including Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Romania, Indonesia, Korea, France, Russia, Moldova, and Serbia along with confectioners from 21 regions of Azerbaijan.

Each country and region featured their dishes according to national and regional tradition and placed them in special pavilions alongside decorative household items and rugs relating to the region in which they are produced.

Magnificent tables with the delicious sweets – such as Sheki halvasi, pakhlava, barama, nogul, bamiya, and girmabadam – were put on display.

Elkhan Usubov, the head of the Sheki City Executive Power addressed the event, saying that Sheki was chosen as a host of the festival not by chance, but because the ancient city played a big role in the formation of the national cuisine.

He said that Sheki sweets stand out due to their flavors and diversity. Usubov informed the audience that Sheki sweets are also exported to other countries, adding that the city is also recognized for its silk, and its halva, nogul, and almonds.

Tahir Amiraslanov, the president of the Azerbaijan National Culinary Association, said that the goal of this festival is to preserve the cultural heritage of the nation. He noted that this event will put not only Sheki cuisine on the map, but also the whole country.

French ambassador to Azerbaijan Pascal Monnier was also among the festival guests. He said that such kinds of events promote friendship and peace among peoples.

The panel of judges consisted of 23 members under the chairmansip of Yelena Suchkova, the head of the “Moscow Chocolate School named after Korkunov.”

They unanimously declared sweets made by Ganja city chefs the best. Chefs from Sheki and Zagatala cities took second place. Third place was awarded to confectioners from the Agdash, Goychay, Oguz, and Naftalan regions.

Among foreign countries, representatives from Romania, Kazakhstan, and France were awarded top prizes at the festival. Second place was taken by pastry chefs from Serbia and Russia, while third place went to confectioners from Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

The festival concluded with an amusing program of performances by various music and dance groups.

Sheki is one of the most fascinating ancient cities of Azerbaijan, famous for its own sweet pakhlava made of rice flour, nuts, and sugar-honey syrup. Anyone visiting Sheki will not be able to resist the temptation of its famous Pakhlava.

There are more than 30 varieties of Azerbaijani pastries that use unique ingredients such as poppy seeds, walnuts, almonds, sesame seeds, ginger, and cardamom, which make the treats spicy and especially tasty.

Every region of Azerbaijan has its own special recipe for local sweets, which may even have different shapes depending on the traditions of the region.

Pakhlava, shekerbura, and badambura – coveted during the Novruz holiday – are among the most famous Azerbaijani sweets.