FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Following the success of the first Goût de France / Good France event, it will be held again on 21 March 2016, with a view to making it an annual spring event. Goût de France / Good France, organized on the initiative of Alain Ducasse and the French ministry of Foreign affairs and international development, showcases the French way of life, regional products, and France as a tourist destination. Now more than ever, gastronomy is a key part of France’s appeal to tourists Inspired by Auguste Escoffier, who launched the “Dîners d’Épicure” (Epicurean Dinners) initiative in 1912 (the same menu, on the same day, in several world cities, for as many guests as possible), Goût de France / Good France recreates this wonderful idea by involving restaurants around the world. Over 1,500 chefs worldwide will once again pay tribute to the excellence of French cuisine and its emphasis on sharing, by preparing a special menu of recipes inspired by French expertise. Participating restaurants are invited to design their menu based on the following sequence: aperitif and canapés, starter, main course(s), cheese, dessert(s), French wines and champagnes. Each recipe will be based on cuisine that uses less fat, sugar and salt and shows concern for “good food” and the environment. The price is at the restaurant’s discretion and each participant will commit to donating 5% of the proceeds to a local NGO promoting health and the environment. In addition to the participating restaurants, French embassies will also be taking part in the event, organizing dinners in the residences of Ambassadors. From 28 January 2016, all participating restaurants are presented on the Good France website. All around the world, anyone can find participating restaurants in their city or country. Many chefs have already posted their menu on the Good France website, to enable everyone to imagine the dinner they will savour on 21 March. All that is left to do now is to contact the restaurant of your choosing to book a table. Given the number of restaurants that still hope to take part, registration will remain open until 22 February, and the committee of chefs will decide on this additional list.
AN INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF CHEFS
Eateries around the world have been encouraged to apply on the Good France website, proposing a menu that showcases France’s culinary traditions. An international selection committee of chefs then approved the list of participating chefs. The chefs on the committee assessed the coherence and quality of the menus proposed by the restaurants that have signed up in their respective geographic areas. Chaired by Alain Ducasse, it includes some 15 chefs from around the world, including Paul Bocuse, Guy Savoy, Joël Robuchon, Thierry Marx, Stéphanie Le Quellec, Michel Roth (Bayview/Switzerland), Genaro Esposito (Tore de Saracino/Italy), Claude Troisgros (Olympe/Brazil), Kiyomi Mikuni (Mikuni/Japan), Mohamed Zai (Kenzi/Morocco), Raymond Blanc (Great Milton/United Kingdom). GOÛT DE FRANCE / GOOD FRANCE: A TASTE OF FRANCE French tourism is a “national treasure”: it represents 7.5% of GDP and some two million jobs that cannot be relocated. 83.8 million tourists visited France in 2015. Today, French food is one of the main reasons that tourists give for choosing France as a destination (one third of all trips) and it plays a large part in France’s cultural influence worldwide. Goût de France / Good France will once again serve as an excellent tool to promote France as a tourist destination and will help generate the momentum that French tourism deserves.
GOÛT DE FRANCE / GOOD FRANCE: AN INVITATION TO EXPLORE OUR REGIONS The event will showcase places that have signed “French destination contracts”, which promote urban, rural, coastal and mountainous areas, with a focus on natural, artistic or architectural heritage, sporting activities or well-being. 20 destination contracts were signed at the French Foreign Ministry between December 2014 and June 2015: around the Louvre-Lens, outdoor activities in Auvergne, golf in Biarritz, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Brittany, Corsica, Dordogne, Guiana, the Vosges Mountains, Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay, Lyon as a city of gastronomy, the Jura Mountains, Normandy – Île-de-France as an “Impressionist destination”, Paris (“the city expanded”), Provence, the Pyrenees, Val de Loire, Champagne, a journey through the Alps.