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PARIS
September 1-4, 2022
Under the High Patronage of
Monsieur Emmanuel Macron
Président of the French Republic
For two years our lives have been far from our landmarks, from our families, and for many of us, from our countries. For two years we have been limited to walking around our homes, seeing our neighbors, hopefully our children, and hopefully our parents. We all suffered from this distance from those we love. Being far from one’s roots remains an unknown feeling for those who live in their own country, but such is the daily life of those who can only turn the globe to touch their native land with their finger.
During this period, the kitchen has reclaimed the central core of our homes. Feeding the other has become the fundamental activity of the day, with its share of sharing, discoveries, successful or failed attempts, laughter immortalized in photos and on social networks, and the memory of past trips.
Years ago, I created the International Gastronomy Village for these same reasons: cooking seemed to me to be the gateway to different cultures, the means to learn and exchange through gestures, tastes, aromas and colors. It also allows us to reconnect with our roots, to pass on to our children the richness of their culinary heritage, to rediscover ancestral dishes and to meet others with curiosity and greed.
The cuisines we celebrate in the Village tell the story of centuries of popular, local and family traditions. In an unceasing tribute to generations of mothers and grandmothers, these cuisines cross ages and borders, offering people a link and a bond. Convivial and festive, they make the Village a meeting place where everyone can share their dishes, their products, their landscapes and their customs.
This is how the Village quickly became a crossroads of gastro-diplomatic strategies, professional exchanges between chefs, producers, authors, importers and journalists, and sharing with the general public. We missed them. We missed you. See you in September 2022, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower!
Anne-Laure DESCOMBIN
President and Founder
VILLAGE INTERNATIONAL DE LA GASTRONOMIE
september, 2022
Under the High Patronage of
Monsieur Emmanuel Macron
Président of the French Republic
TA unique event in the world
The International Gastronomy Village is the world’s largest event dedicated to popular cuisines. Reserved by the embassies and representatives of foreign communities in Paris, the stands of the Village cook together for the countless French and foreign visitors. Eating, drinking, dancing, and discovering the culture of other faces will remain an unforgettable memory for the tens of thousands of people who have visited the Village since 2016. Created by Anne-Laure Descombin, the Village has established itself as an incomparable showcase for the cuisines of the world by offering the countries present the opportunity to promote the best of their traditions in a unique setting.
The Parisian embassies
The network of the International Gastronomy Village has developed strongly on the willingness of embassies to go outside their walls. The promotional aspect of their presence at the Village since 2016 is just one facet of their strategy. Their objective is also to make their products known, and to open new trade routes where clichés or lack of knowledge of foreign cultures still prevail. The stakes are therefore diplomatic, cultural, tourist, agricultural and commercial. It is also about showing the specificities of their country, and celebrating their relationship with France and the city of Paris. Considered as a tool by the embassies, the Village allows them to implement their cultural programs in the respect of others and the sharing that cooking allows.
The restaurant owners
Each exhibitor of the International Gastronomy Village has the opportunity to represent his country in the heart of Paris. Only authentic candidates who respect the traditions of each country will be selected. The products must be of high quality, and the dishes prepared on the spot must guarantee conformity to the reference recipes. This is how the Village has created a network of magnificent restaurateurs, devoted to the promotion of their popular cuisines. Far from the ephemeral trends, each one tries to show the true “cuisine of the mothers”, the one of their childhood, to represent in the most beautiful way the flavors and the characteristic gestures of each people. Among them, many have their own restaurant or caterer in Paris, and proudly wear the colors of their country. The Village is their great annual event, because it allows them to federate their nationals while showing typical riches often ignored by the general public in Paris.
The general public
Since the first edition in September 2016, tens of thousands of visitors have raved about the Village. Parisians or foreigners passing through Paris, all of them inevitably head for the stand of the country or region that is close to their hearts, and continue their visit according to the possible discoveries. It is common to see visitors coming back to taste a dish or a drink from another country, or to spend a whole day talking, eating and dancing with new friends from all over the world. Regardless of political or religious barriers, it is not surprising to see Israelis with Palestinians, Pakistanis with Indians, Turks with Kurds or Greeks, Chinese with Japanese or Taiwanese, Peruvians with Chileans. Through common dishes and traditions shared for centuries, popular cuisine demonstrates its unifying role.
The media
The Village is covered by Radio France, France Télévisions, Le Parisien, Le JDD, Le Figaro, Hôtellerie-Restauration, A Nous Paris, BFM, CNews, RFI, TV5 Monde, M6, Radio Latina, Beur FM, Le Bonbon, Food & Sens, Sortir à Paris, Le Point, etc. It is the subject of hundreds of thousands of views on social networks thanks to the live videos of the TV deschefs.
The Honorary President
Head of the Rungis International Market since 2012, and chairman of the World Union of Wholesale markets, Stéphane LAYANI is the Honorary President of the International Gastronomy Village.
PARIS COOKBOOK FAIR
For the first time, the Village will include a huge area for the international cookbook market. It is the come-back of the Paris Cookbook Fair, with books from over 170 countries and the most important publishers, authors, agents, photographers, TV producers, graphic de-signers, tourism offices and specialized media. The professional area will allow them to network, trade foreign rights and launch new projects with colleagues from as many countries as possible.
Since 1995, the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards bring together the best culinary books of the world. The competition is free, and open to every country, publisher or author, regardless of power or influence. In 24 years, a huge network of professionals has been growing as over 1500 books are sent every year to participate, adding new members to this large family of food culture lovers.
That exponential growth allowed publishers, authors, TV producers, photographers, designers and wine- makers to multiply their contacts around the world. The need of a professional summit was clear: fantastic texts and recipes from all over the world were available to be translated and adapted from one country to another.
The Paris Cookbook Fair was created in 2010, at Le Centquatre, a splendid cultural center in the east of the city. In 2013, the fair moved to the Carrousel du Louvre, before travelling to China in 2014, where the publishing industry was becoming more and more open to international content. In 2015, Gourmand International found an agreement with the Frankfurt Book Fair, the major cultural event of the world, to develop the Gourmet Gallery where publishers meet every year since then. In parallel, Gourmand co-organizes the food and drinks area of the Beijing International Book Fair.
In 2019, the Gourmand World Summit at the UNESCO Headquarters brought together the huge network of food culture professionals, around a big exhibition of 2000 books from 170 countries. It was the opportunity to see what is done and written around the world, by alphabetical order, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. So many topics, styles, layouts, formats, angles, traditions, fusions and research were there to be discovered and shared. So many talented authors and creative publishers to be met.
170
Countries
3500
Cookbooks
68
Events
40K
Visitors in 2019
PROGRAM
A strong program will include events on the central show kitchen, conferences with the greatest authors, lots of dancing and many concerts on the cultural stage of the Village
THE VILLAGE IN 2019
BOOK YOUR SPACE
From June 3 to 7, each exhibitor of the Village International de la Gastronomie has the opportunity to represent its country in the heart of Paris. Projects must be representative of the traditions of each country to be selected. Products have to be excellent, and the dishes prepared on site must respect the authenticity of the reference recipes.
Sale to the public
All exhibitors can sell their products, dishes and books to the public. The number of visitors being very important, a well defined logistics organization is necessary to be able to meet the demand for five days.
Professional meetings
Each exhibitor has the possibility of meeting his diplomatic counterparts, chefs, editors, authors or journalists during the event, either on his own stand or in the meeting spaces provided for this purpose. A professional catalog lists all the exhibitors to facilitate their meetings.
Media coverage
The large media coverage is an opportunity to showcase each country effectively and attractively. Exhibitors take care to create beautiful spaces where the visitors can discover a fine selection of products, dishes and representative books of every country or region.
Registration form
The registration form can be dowloaded here, and contains all the details for exhibitors. Once completed, it will be examined by Agora Expo, and validated if the quality and authenticity criteria are met.