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Interview
Jean-Louis DE VALMIGERE
Secretary General of the Festival of the European Cultures and Flavours
Jean-Louis de Valmigère, Secretary General of the shared his impressions of the preparatory edition of the festival that took place July 10 to 13, 2008. There one could participate in roundtables and conferences, taste food samples, and discover the different handicrafts and products of Europe … during these days the capital of Alsace was turned into a meeting place of European gastronomy that one could simply not evade.
These impressions make us curious about the surprises of the 2009 edition of the Festival of the European Cultures and Flavours. In meantime you can meet Jean-Louis de Valmigère in one of his two “Winstub” in the heart of Strasbourg: nearby the Cathedral or , at Place de la Grande Boucherie.
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Q:
The preparatory edition of the Festival of the European Cultures and Flavours took place July 10 to 13, 2008 in Strasbourg. How was this idea born?
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R:
The idea was born as a result of a workshop at the Conference of Tourism in Strasbourg. We looked for something that might stimulate the month of July that is usually a bit quite. Little by little the idea of a Gastronomy Festival evolved combing a European aspect with a cultural one. The specialists met and created an association that is called “Cultures and Flavours of Europe” and then they elaborated a programme. All this took three years many different professions were involved.
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Q:
What were the highlights of this year’s programme?
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R:
This year’s festival was a tryout. There was a complementary European congress at the Council of Europe where Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and France were represented.
A European Village around the Cathedral presented European products. There especially England, Romania and Spain were represented.
In addition, the European Banquet organised by numerous restaurants was a great success.
Last but not least an ox grilled on a skewer attracted crowds.
Furthermore, ten people had the opportunity to have a European chef in their home kitchen that cooked for them and twelve other people. (OFF Festival) -
Q:
What are your first impressions of the preparatory edition of the festival?
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R:
It was a great success which is also confirmed by the media.
- 304 participants at the congress
- 30000 visitors at the village (we gave out 8000 glasses of milk to children)
- 3800 meals served at the European Banquet
- 119 guests at the OFF Festival -
Q:
Do you already have ideas for the edition 2009?
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R:
Plenty of ideas! For example: to set up ten Villages each presenting one European country, a gourmand walk, a village presenting books about gastronomy, a Congress that will deal with the different territories of Europe…
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Q:
What are your suggestions to discover European recipes?
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R:
Read the book published by the Council of Europe. It describes the diversity and richness of Europe’s cuisine very well and has at least one recipe for each country.
| European diary
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From
21 may 2012 to
24 may 2012
The plenary
session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament formally sits to
vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on political issues. The plenary
sessions take place 12 times a year in Strasbourg
and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.
-
From
11 june 2012 to
14 june 2012
The plenary
session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament formally sits to
vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on political issues. The plenary
sessions take place 12 times a year in Strasbourg
and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.
-
From
2 july 2012 to
5 july 2012
The plenary
session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament formally sits to
vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on political issues. The plenary
sessions take place 12 times a year in Strasbourg
and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.
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