World’s most interesting food festivals
Celebrations offer diners several reasons to get out of country
There are plenty of tasty reasons to let your appetite determine your destination this year. From festivals celebrating familiar foods to those where you can try more unusual ones, and events where both culinary world superstars and lesserknown chefs cook for the crowds, travelling in the coming year promises to be a palatepleasing proposition.
Perugia, in Italy’s Umbria region, will host the 25th edition of Eurochocolate (Oct.19 to 28), an event that draws one million people over10 days. Visitors can try chocolates from more than 100 European producers and also sample chocolate-based desserts prepared by notable pastry chefs, who serve crepes, cookies, cakes and ice cream.
The Espelette Pepper Festival (October) in Espelette, France, situated in the picturesque Basque countryside, is turning 50 this year, and celebrates the end of the Espelette pepper harvest. There’s a market where local purveyors sell the pepper as well as other regional products, and restaurants throughout the town have special menus showcasing it.
Australia has no shortage of food festivals, but the second annual Taste of Kakadu (May18 to 27), in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, may be the most adventurous.
Visitors can discover the bush cuisine that the Aboriginal Australians have eaten for more than 65,000 years — there’s emu, chorizo, barramundi, magpie goose and more.
The scheduled group bush walks are the ideal antidote to all the eating. The Melton Mowbray Food Festival (October) in Leicestershire, England, is at the town’s old livestock market. Close to 200 purveyors proffer tastes of the region’s top food and drinks, including pork pies, cheeses, fudge and ales. There’s also a street food area where Sri Lankan, Singaporean and other varieties of Asian food can be had.
Travellers looking for an excuse for a beach getaway might consider the four-day Caribbean Food and Wine Festival (early November) on Providenciales island in Turks and Caicos.
The event, now in its eighth running, pairs celebrity chefs, such as Christina Tosi from Momofuku Milk Bar and Tiffany Derry from Top Chef, with local talents — the teams work together to create regional dishes such as cracked conch and coconut shrimp, which visitors can try at dinner and daytime tastings at venues throughout the island.