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Content accurate at time of publication
01 Feb 2012
SUDI PIGOTT finds out which food festivals are on the must-attend lists of some of the world’s most celebrated chefs.
For those who live to eat, immersing themselves in the world’s best food festivals – mingling with chefs they admire; picking up culinary “insider” technical tips; meeting and sharing meals, even partying with like-minded food lovers – has to be gastro nirvana.
To ensure they don’t miss out on headline-grabbing international events or delightfully quaint village festivals that celebrate local speciality ingredients like crabs, chestnuts, truffles or saffron, savvy gastronomes the world over practise meticulous forward planning.
Here, five of the world’s most celebrated chefs choose their favourite festivals and offer a hint at where you might rub shoulders with them this year.
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ALAIN PASSARD |
Passard, who loves attending food festivals, says, “What’s wonderful about going to food festivals is that I’m surrounded by people who love food yet may not think it, breathe it or cook it every day like professional chefs. It’s a chance to get immersed in a different food culture too, by visiting local markets, trying different produce and local restaurants.”
A regular at Singapore’s World Gourmet Summit, he is “constantly fascinated by hawker food (local street food) and especially, Singapore’s large variety of vegetable dishes”. Last year, he also attended the International Gourmet Festival in Algarve, Portugal, for the first time.
“It was held in an Oriental-style palazzo hotel right on the Atlantic coast (above) and Vila Joya’s 2-Michelin-star chef Dieter Koschina invited more than 20 chefs, all with Michelin-star restaurants, to cook gourmet meals each day,” Passard shares.
“I like the festival’s intimacy. There are plenty of opportunities to mingle with guests and chefs. I discovered wonderful dishes such as crayfish cooked with porto (fortified wine).”
The 2012 festival took place at Vila Joya from January 12-22 and the chef lineup included Joachim Wissler of Schloss Bensburg in Germany and April Bloomfield of New York’s The Spotted Pig. Daytime festivities included lunch at the Malhadinha Nova vineyard where everything served was raised or grown on the property, as well as wine tastings and workshops on pata negra (Iberian ham) and chocolate making.
