The four corners of the world converge at eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Bearing witness to the culinary diversity of Brussels, one of the highlights at the eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX festival will be the International Village.

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Bearing witness to the culinary diversity of Brussels, one of the highlights at the eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX festival will be the International Village. Eight partners of Brussels-Capital Region -towns and provinces- will be present to better acquaint visitors with flavours from around the world. These international partners complete the programme of the Brussels chefsโ€™ signature dish and the diversity of Bordeaux wines, from 8 to 11 September 2016 at the Parc de Bruxelles.

eat! BRUSSELS, drink! Bordeaux is the gastronomic festival which brings together the full culinary quality and diversity that can be found in Brussels. And rightly so: the European capital is renowned for its cosmopolitan, especially in the art of eating well.


The respective cuisines of the partner regions of Brussels-Capital Region will be celebrated once again this year in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Brussels International. Alongside the Brussels chefs, the partner regions will be brought together in a culinary village. There, they will showcase their specialties and local produce in a fusion of accents, aromas, flavours and spices from the four corners of the world.

Entertainment at the International Village

This year, chefs representing the international partners will give live cooking demonstrations. They will feature variations on one of Brussels’ most famous and iconic dishes, stoemp, using products from their respective local regions. The event will be orchestrated by Brussels’ chef Albert Verdeyen, who is famous for his versions of this popular dish.

The international village will also organise a “World drinks bar” with typical drinks from around the world on the menu. Apart from this, some of the stands, including Quebec, will be selling edible produce to take home.

And lastly, atmosphere will be provided by musicians, who will round off the gastronomic programming. This will be the case especially for the Rabat-Salรฉ-Kenitra Region, which will present concerts of traditional Moroccan music, and Kinshasa, which will certainly lend a warm atmosphere to the village.
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Here is a preview of the regions participating:

Africa

Kinshasa (City-Province Capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo – DRC)

Family focused and comforting, Congolese cuisine is prepared and enjoyed outside, under the shade of a flowering bougainvillea, beneath the leaves of a pergola of passionflowers or an Indian-almond tree. Christian Baby Yumbi, โ€œSTARCHEF ” of the pan-African cooking competition, in Mars 2015, revisits these traditions with passion. This is a cuisine full of sunshine, reflected through the myriad of spices that flavour it.

The Kinshasa Ambassador at eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX: Chef Christian B. Yumbi- Restaurant Resource

The Region of Rabat-Salรฉ-Kรฉnitra (Morocco)

Moroccan cuisine has retained its originality and unique cultural features. Traditional tajines, royal couscous, pastillas, briouats, gazelle horns… are just some of the names that transport and captivate us at mealtimes. These specialities, excellently produced, will once again be available to enjoy at this fifth eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX festival. To accompany all these delicacies, it simply has to be a mint tea. Of course.

Ambassador of the Region of Rabat-Salรฉ-Kรฉnitra at Rabat-Salรฉ-Kรฉnitra ร  eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX: Samraa Caterer

America

Le Quebec (Canada)

Both traditional and creative, the cuisine of Quebec is continually reinventing itself. Thanks to the undisputed talent of its chefs, traditional Quebec recipes have been adapted to today’s tastes while retaining the best of what Quebec’s culinary heritage has to offer. The confluence of French, British and Native American influences, the cuisine of Quebec champions local flavours such as maple and cranberry. La Petite Cabane ร  sucre de Quรฉbec, in association with the Belgian chef Olivier De Laere, will introduce you to Quebec, mouthful by mouthful: pearls of maple vinegar, organic cranberry syrup with yuzu, maple mustard, your taste buds will keep you coming back for more!

The Quebec Ambassador at eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX : La Petite Cabane ร  sucre de Quรฉbec, in association with the chef Olivier

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Asia

Beijing (People’s Republic of China)

Sometimes referred to as Mandarin or Imperial cuisine, Beijing’s food features a range of dishes and desserts influenced by different Chinese culinary traditions. Since the climate is not suitable for rice growing, wheat, in the form of noodles or bread, is the main starchy food. Another of its key characteristics is a pronounced taste for strong-flavoured roots and vegetables such as pepper, garlic, ginger, leeks, chives and coriander.

The Beijing Ambassador at eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX: Minzu Hotel

Szechuan Province (Central-western province of the People’s Republic of China)

Szechuan cuisine is famous for its hot and spicy dishes. The famous Szechuan pepper is a plant with a spicy, numbing and almost lemony flavour. While it is ever present in local cuisine, it is the red chillies, imported from America, that give this cuisine its spicy emphasis. A local saying goes, “In Szechuan cuisine each dish has its own style, a hundred dishes have a hundred different flavours.”

Szechuan Ambassador at eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX: Daronghe Restaurant

Europe

Ljubljana (Slovenia)

Slovenia, located at the crossroads of the Alps, the Mediterranean and the Pannonic Plain, is a rising star amongst foodies. In the past years it has attracted a growing number of culinary tourists. Sloveniaโ€™s creative chefs are constantly reinventing the countryโ€™s culinary tradition, which is amongst other things characterized by the Balkan cuisine. Just like in the past years Ljubljana is represented by the cityโ€™s best restaurant, i.e. Gostlina na gradu.
Ambassador of Ljubljana at eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX: Gostlina na gradu

The Mazowieckie Voivodeship (Poland)

In Mazovia, culinary art is a national tradition. And it’s a wonderful surprise! The Masovian table is always well stocked, reflecting its people’s generosity of soul. Over the centuries, the Polish lands have been enriched not only by Italian and French cooking but also Tartar, Armenian, Lithuanian, Cossack, Hungarian and Jewish culinary influences.

The Masovian Ambassador at eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX: Culinary team appointed by Mazovia Province, especially for the festival.

Sofia (Bulgaria)

At the crossroad of many influences, Sofia’s cuisine is typical of the Balkans. Mezes, grills and salads are often in evidence in generous platefuls. Bulgarian cuisine isn’t limited to the famous yoghurt. It’s perpetually reinventing itself. Sofia is represented by two young entrepreneurs who have reinvented the traditional Bulgarian fritter or mekitsa by presenting it with a range of sweet or savoury fillings. Their cafรฉs are currently very fashionable among Sofia’s residents.

The Sofia Ambassador at eat! BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX: Mekitza & Cafรฉ

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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