Explore the world’s flavors at International Pavilion of Eat! Brussels, drink! Bordeaux festival

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Reflecting the varied origins of Brussels’ culinary offerings, an International Pavilion will once again set up shop at the eat! Brussels, drink! Bordeaux festival. This year, nine cities, provinces, and regions affiliated with the Brussels-Capital Region will come together in a veritable international village. They will help curious visitors get acquainted with new flavors. It is a great accompaniment to the Brussels chefs’ signature dishes and the variety of Bordeaux wines from 7 to 10 September in Parc de Bruxelles.

At the eat! Brussels, drink! Bordeaux Festival each year, visitors rediscover the capital’s different types of cuisine. But the European capital’s cosmopolitan vibe is not limited to its population. Many restaurants from diverse backgrounds have popped up all around the
Capital.

In partnership with the Ministry of International Relations and Brussels International, nine bilateral partners from the Brussels-Capital Region, a dynamic metropolitan region open to the world, are coming together once again at the festival to present their culinary specialties. Great discoveries await.

The International Pavilion partners:

Africa

Rabat-Salรฉ-Kรฉnitra (Morocco)

Moroccan cuisine has been able to maintain its authenticity and unique cultural idiosyncrasies. Traditional tajine, couscous royal, pastillas, briouats, gazelle horns, etc. Foods to send us on a journey through an enchanted meal. These specialities, expertly prepared, will be available for sampling during this sixth running of the eat! Brussels, drink! Bordeaux festival. Mint tea is an essential complement to these ample delicacies. That goes without saying.

North America

Quebec (Canada)

Both traditional and creative, Quebec’s cuisine is always reinventing itself. Thanks to the undisputed talent of its chefs, it has been possible to update Quebec’s characteristic recipes for today’s tastes while preserving the best culinary heritage that the province has to offer. The fruit of French, British, and Native American culinary influences, Quebec’s dishes give top billing to local flavours. To prove it, this year Quebec’s ultimate “comfort food” classic, poutine, will be featured and prepared in all different ways: famous Montreal smoked meat, maple pulled pork, smoked salmon, etc.

Quebec’s Representative at the eat! Brussels, drink! Bordeaux Festival: La Petite Cabane ร  Sucre de Quรฉbec (Quebec’s little sugar shack), in cooperation with chefs Vincent Bernier and Graham Gartside Bernier, the Poutine Boys of the Blue Caribou Canteen.

Asia

Beijing (China)

Sometimes called Mandarin or Imperial cuisine, Pekingese cooking covers a range of dishes and desserts influenced by various Chinese culinary traditions. Since the climate is not conducive to rice cultivation, wheat, in noodle or bread form, is the main starch. Another of its major attributes is a great appreciation for roots and vegetables with strong flavors, such as peppers, garlic, ginger, leeks, chives, and coriander.

Szechuan Province (southwestern China)

Szechuan cuisine is known for its hot and spicy dishes. The famous Szechuan pepper is a plant with a spicy, numbing, almost lemony, flavor. Though it is ubiquitous in local cuisine, it is actually the red chillies, imported from America that have given this cuisine its spicy accent. A local saying goes “Szechuan cuisine is the only one with a hundred different dishes, each endowed with its own flavor, and the only one to have a dish combining these hundred different flavors.”

Europe

Berlin (Germany)

Berlin’s cuisine is one of great diversity. One has to get past all the stereotypes about the consumption of beer, pork, cabbage, and potatoes! It has developed an inventive cuisine, open to the world and its many influences. In addition it has an

elite selection of renowned chefs. But beyond even the dishes themselves, it’s the ambiance that does Berlin proud, the Berliner way of life, relaxed and frenzied at the same time, is unique and delicious! This friendliness will be perfectly embodied by Neue Heimat, a street food market, well known and very trendy, offering high-end street food.

Kiev (Ukraine)

Kiev has always been a historic destination where the nation’s culture and soul are expressed in grand cathedrals on green hills and through a frantic pace of life. But if you want to get to know Kiev, you must start with its cuisine: the famous borscht, of course, but also homemade stuffed sausages, Nalyvka, fresh bacon on rye bread, and certainly the renowned Carpates honey… This rich mix of flavors will open your heart to the wealth of its cultural heritage. Kiev offers you a warm welcome!

Ljubljana (Slovenia)

Slovenia is a rising star for meat lovers. Culinary tourism has been on the rise there in recent years. At the confluence of the Alps, the Mediterranean, and the Pannonian Plains, the country’s culinary history, where we also find the Balkan disposition, comes to life each day thanks to the creative talents of Slovenian chefs.

Mazovia (Poland)

In Mazovia, culinary art is a national tradition. And it’s a pleasant surprise! The Mazovian tables are well stocked in all circumstances, reflecting the people’s generous soul. Through the centuries, Poland has been enriched by culinary influences from Italians and the French, but also Tatars, Armenians, Lithuanians, Cossacks, Hungarians, and Jews.

Sofia (Bulgaria)

At the crossroads of multiple influences, Sofia’s cuisine is typically Balkan. Mezzes, grilled foods, and salads are often served in generous portions. Bulgarian cuisine is not just about its famous yoghurt, far from it. It is always reinventing itself. Sofia is represented by two young entrepreneurs who have reimagined the typical Bulgarian doughnut or mekitsa by preparing it with different sweet or salty side dishes. Their coffees are quite popular these days with denizens of Sofia.

Activities at the International Pavilion

There is always something going on at the International Pavilion:

The iris in colors

This year the Brussels-Capital Region wanted to celebrate its festival partners by offering them an original gift: a work of art by artist Harwan Red to celebrate their fruitful collaboration with our region.

Harwan will offer nine paintings inspired by the iris, the Brussels-Capital Region’s iconic flower, available in the colors of our partner regions, a beautiful way to symbolically highlight the strength of our bonds.

But the originality of the artist’s methods will not stop there. He will apply his specific unique touch by enhancing his creations through crowd participation, inviting those present at the event to personalize his works.

The involvement of a large audience from diverse backgrounds will allow people who do not know each other to work together on this project in an altruistic manner. It’s a beautiful symbol of an action that is all at once artistic, friendly, and civic-minded.

The art work will be given to the different Brussels-Capital Region partner regions.

Chocolate and crickets at the Brussels Region’s booth

Another example that is all at once iconic, fun, innovative, and future-oriented: Brussels International has brought together a Brussels family business, a veritable institution devoted to promoting quality Belgian chocolate, Choco-Story, and a brand new company that brings crickets to market, Little Food. The combination has taken the form of an original live cooking show and chocolate tastings – with crickets. No doubt something to amaze a great many visitors, and maybe send a shudder through less daring visitors.

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Chief Assignment Editor

Chief Assignment editor is Oleg Siziakov

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