Celebrate French cuisine with Gôut de France

This 19 March, a celebration of Gallic gastronomy will take the form of a multi-course meal served worldwide

In 1912, the father of modern French cooking Auguste Escoffier embarked on an ambitious culinary endeavour; Les Dîners d’Épicure (Epicurean Diners) entailed a French meal served to hundreds of people simultaneously in thirty-seven cities across the world. The event was hailed as a great success, helping to export France’s culinary savoir-faire to far-flung corners of the word and, according to Escoffier, went down in culinary history as “the finest promotion of French cooking that had even been attempted.”

Now, the spirit of Escoffier’s global meal will be revived with Gôut de France, an event again to being held worldwide in celebration of France’s culinary heritage. On 19 March, a total of 1,000 chefs across the five continents will join to serve a multi-course meal simultaneously.Participating restaurants can range from fine dining eateries to modest bistros but must share the aim of creating a delicious contemporary menu with a large helping of French joie de vivre.

Behind the event is none other than the three-Michelin-star chef Alain Ducasse who, along with a committee of international chefs, has been involved in hand-picking the participating restaurants based on their capacity for innovation and their ability to produce high-quality, seasonal dishes that remain low in fat, salts and sugar.

Each participating restaurant will have the freedom to select its own ingredients and create a unique menu but must follow the same meal sequence: a traditional French aperitif will be followed by a cold and hot appetiser, a fish or shell-fish based course, then a meat or poultry-based course before cheese and dessert. A selection of well-paired wines and one French liqueur are also essential parts of the meal.

Organisers hope the event will be illustrative of French gastronomy as it is recognised by Unesco; one of the world’s ‘intangible heritages’ that can be shared and savoured by everyone. Those interested in dining at one of the participating restaurants will find further details and participating resaurants on the website: www.goodfrance.com.