One hardly needs to justify a trip to Paris, but three upcoming food festivals make for a particularly appealing reason to stop over in the next two months.
1. Taste of Paris: February 11-14Many found it curious that it took ten years for the international Taste Festival to reach Paris (blame red tape!), but the city more than made up for lost time with the inaugural Taste of Paris in 2015. Beginning February 11th, the festival returns to the illustrious Grand Palais for a second edition with an even more robust cast of leading chefs, including Alain Ducasse, Thierry Marx, Romain Meder, Pierre Sang, Guy Savoy, Stephanie Le Quellec and Daniel Morgan, a rising English chef based in Paris. Each will cook up a menu of modestly priced appetizers, mains and desserts (ranging from 5-12 euros) in an effort to expose a wide dining audience to their cooking.
A selection of food artisans and producers (olive oil, cider, caviar, Burgundy wines, jams and Maille mustard, among others) handpicked by the Culinary College of France will also be presenting or running workshops at the festival. Hands-on cooking sessions and a Laurent-Perrier Champagne pairing bar will lend a more practical element to the experience (and offset the crowds at the food stalls). Visiting families will be pleased (relieved, perhaps?) to know that a full roster of activities (including a treasure hunt) have been arranged to keep the younger set occupied. —paris.tastefestivals.com
2. Omnivore World Tour Paris: March 6, 7, 8 The 11th edition of the Omnivore traveling culinary festival arrives in Paris in March at the Maison de la Mutualité and will continue to focus on emerging trends and rising young chefs through a host of food demonstrations and masterclasses. Founder Luc Dubanchet calls the three-day food and beverage affair one giant party, complete with pop-up dinners and five stages—sweet, savory, liquid, artisan and, the newest and most forward-looking, avant-garde—to highlight what defines the food scene today and what may define it tomorrow (think: more entrepreneurs and reinforced emphasis on sustainability). From craft beer brewers and gluten-free bakers to specialty coffee roasters and megawatt pastry chefs, there is something to satisfy all manner of food lover.—omnivore.com/world-tour
3. Le Food Market (Monthly) Much in the spirit of the weekly pop up street food markets in Berlin, Le Food Market began in 2015 as a way to celebrate the thriving street food scene in Paris, putting the spotlight primarily on foods that originate from beyond French borders. Complicated permits, logistics and limited space make the weekly format more of a long-term ambition than a feasibility but locals have come to look forward to the monthly outing where they can browse the 15 stands and taste a little bit of everything at less than 10 euros. The concept wasn’t merely about bringing people together around the shared love of street food in all its forms and flavors, but to develop neighborhood life and community. That the Le Food Market occupies the same space as the weekly open-air farmer’s market on Boulevard de Belleville isn’t a coincidence. The event’s founders want to drive the message that street food, from vegan veggie bowls and Tunisian couscous to Texan barbecue and savory pies, can be part of le bien manger (eating well).—lefoodmarket.fr
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