Cabras, all set for the "Bottarga Festival"

From Moreno Cedroni to Davide Scabin, from Gianfranco Pascucci to Chef Hiro and Pasquale Torrente. But also the new Sardinian cuisine with Francesco Stara, Angelo Biscotti, Alessandro Cabona, Salvatore Camedda, Luca Marini, Bruna Melis, Cristian Carboni, Luca Marciano, and Osteria de' Mercati. From tomorrow until September 20th, Cabras becomes one of Italy's culinary capitals thanks to the Bottarga Festival. Three days dedicated to the country's queen, great protagonists of Italian cuisine, and a new generation of Sardinian chefs invited to showcase the island through dishes, products, and regions.

Three days during which cuisine is not just showcased: it is tasted, discussed, and becomes a tool for connecting Cabras with other Italian gastronomic experiences and, at the same time, for illustrating the transformation of contemporary Sardinian cuisine. The first major culinary protagonist will be Gianfranco Pascucci, chef at Pascucci al Porticciolo in Fiumicino. On Friday, September 18, Pascucci will participate at 6:45 pm in "Radici d'acqua," a dialogue linking the environment, lagoons, and gastronomic culture, alongside Augusto Navone, Gianluigi Bacchetta, and Bernard Bédarida. At 8:20 pm, he will be the protagonist of "Chiacchiere in cucina," alongside sommelier Sandra Ciciriello, in conversation with journalist Luciana Squadrilli. This encounter brings to Cabras one of the most recognizable and recognized exponents of Italian seafood cuisine and introduces one of the Festival's central themes: starting from the sea and water to understand the product, the territory, and the work that goes into each dish. If great Italian chefs are one of the attractions of the fifth edition, Sardinian cuisine will play an equally central role.

The "Trajectories. The New Sardinian Cuisine" format will bring to the Festival stage chefs and restaurateurs who are developing different languages around the island's raw materials and identities. Saturday, September 19th, the event begins at 12:30 pm with Angelo Biscotti, chef of Le Dune Piscinas in Arbus, along with author Valeria Usala and sommelier Manuel Golin. At 1:40 pm, Alessandro Cabona, chef of Le Terrazze in Baja Sardinia, and author Ilenia Zedda will take the stage. At 7:40 pm, the journey will reach Francesco Stara, chef of Fradis Minoris, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Laguna di Nora. He will be joined by Sandra Ciciriello and, in conversation, chef Salvatore Camedda of Ulìa restaurant in Arzachena. Saturday will feature another well-known guest. At 9 pm, in Piazza Don Sturzo, Chef Hiro will present "Dinner Among the Stars – Great Guest Chefs." The live cooking session will also feature Andrea Fulgheri and Luca Gardini, sommelier and editor of the L'Espresso Guides, in conversation with Francesco Bruno Fadda.

On Sunday, Sardinian cuisine returns to Cagliari, Quartu, and Sassari. The final day of the Festival will feature the most culinary events. At 12:30 pm, Traiettorie will resume with Luca Marini, chef of Cagliari's Nakoa restaurant, along with Sandra Ciciriello. At 1:35 pm, chef Bruna Melis and Cristian Carboni, of Quartu Sant'Elena's Arkè restaurant, will take the stage. At 4 pm, Luca Marciano will present a decidedly unconventional encounter: "Fruit, Bottarga, and Aperitif," pairing the sweetness of fruit with the savory richness of Cabras' gold. At 5:45 pm, Traiettorie will return to Sassari's Osteria de' Mercati, featuring Salvatore Cadeddu, Simone Pinna, and Federica Ghiani in conversation with journalist Luciana Squadrilli. A broad and diverse Sardinian presence allows the Festival to showcase not just one concept of island cuisine, but a diverse gastronomic Sardinia, capable of building on tradition while embracing research and new ways of interpreting products and territories. At 7:00 PM on Sunday, the Festival will shift perspective with one of the protagonists who has contributed most to the evolution of contemporary Italian cuisine: Davide Scabin. His live cooking will be the focus of the panel "Italian Cuisine Meets Artificial Intelligence." Scabin will be in conversation with Alessandro Aresu and Bernard Bédarida, with the participation of Federica Ghiani and hosted by Lara De Luna. At 8:10 PM, Pasquale Torrente, of the Al Convento restaurant in Cetara, and Salvatore Camedda, of the Ulìa restaurant in Arzachena, will meet for the live cooking session "Four Hands of Taste: Two Chefs, Two Seas, Two Dishes."

On one side, Cetara and the gastronomic culture of the Amalfi Coast; on the other, Gallura and the Sardinian sea, without forgetting Cabras, the birthplace of chef Camedda. Moderating will be Giulia Mancini, journalist for Il Gusto – La Repubblica. The final major gastronomic event of the fifth edition will likely also be one of the most anticipated. At 9:25 pm on Sunday, September 20, Moreno Cedroni, chef of La Madonnina del Pescatore, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant and one of the most influential figures in innovating Italian seafood cuisine, will take the stage. This time, the discussion will focus on the Festival's signature product: mullet roe. Cedroni will interpret it in a live cooking show with Luca Gardini, in conversation with Lara De Luna, and with the special participation of Arrogalla, who will bring musical exploration to the gastronomic performance. A finale that encapsulates the very idea of "Relazioni di gusto": a product deeply rooted in the history of Cabras entrusted to the gaze of one of the great interpreters of contemporary Italian cuisine.

A much broader culinary program will unfold around the live cooking sessions by top chefs. The Slow Food Terre Oristanesi Taste Workshops will offer meetings and tastings dedicated to pairing bottarga, while Luca Gardini will lead the Vernaccia masterclass on Sunday. In Piazza Eleonora d'Arborea, there will also be masterclasses dedicated to bread, cheese, and young Vernaccia. Throughout the weekend, the Gal Sinis producers' market and the food area of local restaurateurs will offer tastings of bottarga and other local products, even outside of the on-stage events. The 2026 Bottarga Festival is promoted by the Municipality of Cabras, with the support of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia – Department of Tourism, Crafts and Commerce, the Fondazione di Sardegna, the Fondazione Mont'e Prama, the GAL Sinis and the Sinis Peninsula Marine Protected Area, in collaboration with Slow Food Terre Oristanesi and the Oristano Hotel Institute, and organized by the Association of Local Authorities for Cultural and Entertainment Activities.