The Belgian cooperative has joined forces with the Mister Spaghetti restaurant chain to highlight domestically produced aubergines

To counter a lack of knowledge regarding locally produced aubergines, Belgian cooperative BelOrta has teamed up with Belgian restaurant chain Mister Spaghetti to offer the ‘Auber-Genie’, made from domestically grown aubergines.

Auber-Genie spaghetti

“All summer long, you can taste the ‘Auber-Genie’ in Mister Spaghetti’s six locations - Aalst, Bruges, Kortrijk, Ostend, Turnhout, Roeselare: a genuine spaghetti with locally grown aubergines,” the cooperative stated.

A survey by iVox, commissioned by BelOrta in May 2020, showed that only one in five Belgians was aware that aubergines are also produced locally.

Aubergines have been grown in Belgium for more than 30 years, yet most people continue to associate the vegetable with Mediterranean cuisine.

“To put this local origin in the spotlight, we joined forces with Mister Spaghetti, a Belgian restaurant concept with different spaghetti dishes,” BelOrta said. “They conjured up the ‘Auber-Genie’ spaghetti, with BelOrta aubergines playing a leading role. This dish is completely local, from the aubergines used with their beautiful deep purple colour to the recipe that comes straight from Mister Spaghetti’s kitchen.”