Vegetables grown in Kyoto were served at a banquet Monday in the Vatican Museums to about 300 guests including cardinals and ambassadors to promote Japanese dishes.

Dishes using ingredients such as "Kujo-Negi" scallion, "Kamo-Nasu" eggplant and "Manganji-Togarashi" pepper prepared by Yoji Satake, lead chef at the 300-year-old Kyoto cuisine restaurant Takeshigero, were served at the event organized by the Kyoto unit of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives group.

The menu also included wagyu beef and Uji green tea from Kyoto, and a tea ceremony serving matcha was also held before the banquet.

"We've brought traditional Kyo-yasai (Kyoto vegetables), which were grown with great care. We will promote the culture, agriculture and cuisine of Kyoto," JA Group Kyoto Chairman Yasuhiro Nakagawa said.

The group has hosted similar banquets featuring Kyoto vegetables at famous sites around the world including the Palace of Versailles in the suburbs of Paris and the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.

(Green tea is served to cardinals and other guests before a banquet at the Vatican Museums)