Delicious Competition Indeed; Enter Carnival Magic’s ‘Name the Dish’ Contest

Take a delectable combination of spaghetti, clams, garlic, white wine, olive oil, vermouth, pesto, brioche bread crumbs, cherry tomatoes, and arugula, all topped with shaved Parmesan cheese, and what have you got? That's for you to decide when you “Name the Dish.”

Here’s a delicious way for you to have your name associated with an exciting new dining venue aboard the Carnival Magic when it debuts next spring. Dubbed “The Yummiest Contest Around,” Carnival’s “Name the Dish” contest challenges would-be chefs and foodies to put on their thinking caps–or in this case, their chef’s hats–to come up with a creative moniker for a new mouth-watering menu item described above to be served at Cucina del Capitano, the ship’s Italian family-style restaurant.

The palate-pleasing menu item was developed by Carnival’s master chefs based on a recipe taken directly from Carnival Magic Captain Giovanni Cutugno’s home kitchen. Actually, Captain Cutugno secretly “borrowed” his wife’s treasured recipe and they need help in renaming the dish so she doesn’t find out!

Entries must be 50 characters or less and can be submitted via a special web site, CarnivalMagic.com/contest, from Sept. 21 to Oct. 1. You'll also find information and contest rules there. Five finalists will be selected by a panel of judges with consumer voting beginning Oct. 6. The grand prize winner will be announced on Oct. 15. As part of its ongoing support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Carnival will donate $1 for each contest entry and $1 per vote. Carnival will also donate $1 for every Facebook fan who “likes” the contest on the site.

In addition to bragging rights and having their entry listed on Cucina del Capitano’s menu, the winner will receive a prize pack containing a pasta pot, Carnival recipe book, apron, and a bottle of wine.

The newly named dish will be among the extensive menu offerings within the 117-seat eatery, which brings the heritage of Carnival’s Italian captains to the table with a décor evocative of a cozy Italian home with wood-beam ceilings, ornate wrought ironwork, and framed archival photographs–many from the Carnival captains’ personal collections.