Italian cruise company Costa Cruises and its partner Barilla, will pay tribute to pasta across its fleet for World Pasta Day on Oct. 25. World Pasta Day was established in 1998 by the Union of the European Industrial Pasta-Manufacturers Association and the International Pasta Organisation. As an international ambassador of Italian excellence, Costa is taking this event to sea, giving pasta a starring role on board its ships for a whole day.
The Italian cruise company the will welcome onboard the creations of two famous chefs coming from the “Pasta World Championship” organized by the Academia Barilla: rigatoni with sausage, ricotta and fresh sweet tomato sauce by Chef Melissa Kelly, a lover of healthy and genuine cuisine; and vermicelli in a sauce of mussels and nettles with the scent of orange by Chef Daniel Evangelista, who successfully joins Western and Eastern cuisines in the dish.
Food lovers will also have a chance to discover the secrets of Kelly’s recipe during a special Show Cooking Demo with Costa’s onboard chefs and to try their hand at “Gioielli di Pasta” (pasta jewels).
Children also can take part in World Pasta Day by participating in the “Pasta Salad Contest,” where young chefs will prepare their best dish, and in “Pasta Creations,” where they can express their imagination.
World Pasta Day will also be a perfect opportunity for Costa to share with guests the reasons pasta is simple, delicious, healthy and sustainable:
• Simple: because the perfect combination of ingredients, such as flour and water, give rise to an extraordinary product.
• Delicious: because its infinite versatility makes pasta the undisputed star of sophisticated combinations and familiar flavors.
• Healthy: because its balance of complex carbohydrates and essential energetic support for the body have made pasta the “Queen of the Mediterranean Diet.”
• Sustainable: because the virtuous relationship between human consumption of natural resources and the ability of the earth to regenerate them ensures sustainable production for future generations.

Lovers of the most important dish in the Italian culinary tradition won’t just celebrate it on Costa ships during World Pasta Day, but also for the rest of the year. There will be special “Pasta in Festa” days held on all Costa cruises for almost a year, during which guests can sample recipes inspired by Italian regional traditions using Barilla pasta.