France to hold second international food festival

‘Fête de la Gastronomie’ attracts epicureans worldwide with its finest delicacies


“A successful dish is a thing of beauty and balance, born of the spirit and hand of man,” said Michel Gurard, renowned French Michelin three-starred chef and a founder of Nouvelle cuisine, an innovative method of cooking to create food low in calories.

Not only is he a world-famous chef, he is also the patron of an upcoming international food festival that will be held across France in late September.

France is a center of fine delicacies. Last year, its minister of state joined fellow prominent citizens for the first edition of the international food festival with the common goal of celebrating the French way of life through its food, and promoting France abroad. 

The second “Fête de la Gastronomie,” an extension of the French “Gastronomic Meal,” which was listed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage, will be on Sunday.

Created with the aim of sharing and spreading French epicurean culture and diverse food, the festival is an event where locals, foreign visitors and tourists may also enjoy the fine dining of French gourmands. The festival attracts everyone from professionals to amateurs, and dedicated foodies to casual visitors. The participating chefs expect the participants to experience the diversity of France’s local specialties and the excellence of French expertise in cuisine.

“Eating fine cuisine has become such an essential factor in our lives that there was no festival for it. However, through this festival everyone can enjoy the delicacies of France,” said Frdric Lefebvre, French minister of tourism.

In 2011, professional food industry members and the public flooded to approximately 6,000 projects and events in 2,000 towns and cities nationwide and even countries on the other side of the world including Japan and South Africa.

This year’s festival will be held under the theme “Terroirs: Tradition et Cration” ― looking at the contributions of traditions and natural surroundings to food.

For more information, visit the official website at www.fete-gastronomie.fr/fr.

By Lee Hyun-jae, Intern reporter 
(lhj137@heraldcorp.com)