Zibo, a small city in northern China, has become one of the hottest cities in China with its "Barbecue Festival". Looking at Europe, some small cities have also broken through various food festivals and become popular tourist destinations in Europe and even globally. Lyon in France, Valencia in Spain, Parma in Italy, and other places have created a culinary and cultural business card with snacks full of regional characteristics.

Lyon, the "City of Gastronomy of the world", holds food festivals all the year round

Lyon, a city in the southeast of France, is known as the "City of Gastronomy of the World". This city has over 2000 restaurants, making it one of the cities in France and Europe with the highest number of restaurants per capita. There are also dozens of Michelin restaurants in the local area, which can be described as "shining stars" in the global catering industry. Lyon also has many food themed festivals, which can be said to be held throughout the year.

As the "City of Gastronomy of the world", Lyon has its own advantages. The street snack food festival in autumn is the busiest time in Lyon every year. The annual snack food festival always attracts the attention of countries around the world, "Stephanie Angelvin, press officer of the Lyon City Promotion Agency, told reporters. Hundreds of chefs from around the world cook specialty snacks on-site for tourists. During the festival, the small town will also hold dozens of concerts and food seminars. Tourists from France and around the world can enjoy singing and dancing while enjoying delicious food. And the chefs gather together to enjoy the joy of making delicious food for tourists, and they can also share their culinary experiences and create new cuisines together at the seminar.

Although there are many delicious foods from around the world every time, the most popular one is still Lyon snacks. Like Lyon donuts, made from flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and spices, it is a long-standing Lyon specialty dessert. Rose nut candy is a pink candy made from almonds and other ingredients, which is crispy and delicious. In addition, specialty snacks such as Lyon tripe and fish rolls are also popular.

In fact, Lyon has a food festival all year round. In January, there are "Lyon International Catering Exhibition" and "International Food Biennale", both world-class food events, accompanied by culinary competitions and food competitions where chefs can become famous. In April, the Lyon Beer Festival opened, and craft beer from France and even around the world is the protagonist of the festival. However, drinking alcohol is inevitably accompanied by delicious food. At the Immigration Food Festival in June, local chefs collaborated with immigrant chefs from other countries to launch various exotic and delicious dishes. September is the Street Snack Food Festival. In addition, there are also chocolate fairs and chocolate fashion shows in Lyon in autumn and winter. Marathons held in rural Lyon are often combined with local wine festivals, and there is no shortage of delicious wine and food.

Lyon, as the "City of Gastronomy of the world", also has a geographical advantage. Its location has been the geographical center of French agricultural products since ancient times, so the cuisine of Lyon combines ingredients from all directions. For example, the ingredients in the north include Bress chicken, Charlotte beef, and plenty of cream and butter. The ingredients of the southern valley include fresh seasonal vegetables, wine, and olive oil. The hilly areas in the west are the location of pig farms, producing high-quality pork for many famous sausage delicatessen in Lyon. At the same time, wetlands in the East Bass region can provide specialties such as trout, carp, crayfish, frogs, and snails. In addition, the famous wine producing regions of France - Burgundy wine, Conderio wine, and Rh ô ne wine - surround Lyon

Lyon is located at the confluence of the majestic Rhone and Thorne rivers, and has long been considered a gateway between northern and southern Europe. It was an important gathering place for transportation routes in ancient times and naturally a gathering place for cuisine. The Lyon Food Market, founded in 1859, has always provided the best ingredients and seasonings for local restaurants.

Lyon, as the "City of Gastronomy of the World", has been breeding famous culinary masters since ancient times. From the famous chef Septimanus, who exists in legends and historical documents, to the modern legendary chef Paul Bogus, who is known as the "God of French cuisine", the city's culinary "code" has never been cut off in the hands of generations of chefs. In the streets of Lyon, you can often see the portrait of Paul Bogus, which also shows the respect of this City of Gastronomy for chefs. Nowadays, the Chef Academy founded by Paul Bogus provides training for chefs from around the world, promoting Lyon cuisine.

The culinary heritage of Lyon also relies on a group of remarkable female chefs, who are revered as "Lyon mothers". Hundreds of years ago, they were a group of chefs who cooked delicious food for aristocratic and wealthy families. With the changing times, some chefs have taken the lead in opening private restaurants in Lyon and introducing many classic dishes that combine tradition and innovation.

Today, in addition to visiting various local food festivals, you can also visit small taverns with local government certification marks to taste traditional Lyon cuisine. There are dozens of such small taverns, many of which have been passed down from generation to generation from the hands of "Lyon mothers".

Italian Parma Food Festival changes theme every week

If you want to say which European city has the longest food festival, you probably have to say the small town of Palma in northern Italy. This food festival runs almost throughout September, with chefs from the local and surrounding areas cooking various delicacies for tourists in Parma Square. Interestingly, the one month food festival is divided into different themes by week, with one theme per week.

The theme of the first week is "Red Gold" in Parma, where red gold refers to the local tomatoes. Italian cuisine cannot be separated from tomatoes, which are essential "soul" dishes from vegetable salads, pasta, pizza, and various stews and sauces. So, the first theme of the Palma Food Festival is to pay tribute to tomatoes. The theme of the second week is the famous Parma ham. The theme of the third week is the history of cuisine, with dedicated personnel leading tourists through the ancient city of Parma to experience the local culinary traditions. The theme for the fourth week is Parmesan cheese and pasta.

Parma is rich in two top ingredients - dried ham and Parma cheese. As locals say, if you want to learn about Parma, you must not miss ham and cheese. Parma ham is known as the "Herm è s of Italian ham", and its fame and craftsmanship are commendable. And its trademark is a golden crown, marked with the origin of "Parma", proudly demonstrating its extraordinary identity. Cheese is an indispensable ingredient in Italian cuisine, with Parmesan cheese being the most famous among them. For Italians, a portion of pasta must be sprinkled with Parmesan cheese to be considered authentic. Authentic Parmesan cheese has a beautiful golden yellow surface and a relatively solid texture, with a combination of milky, salty, and sweet flavors. Palma's snacks are also closely related to these two ingredients, such as local dumplings filled with different ingredients, including spinach, Palma cheese, pumpkin, and so on. And a type of sausage called Politi, which contains beef tongue, pork elbow meat, and other ingredients, paired with sauce, is very delicious.

During the food festival, there is also a thousand person dinner in the small town. On the ancient path of the small town, a 300 meter long table is set up under the starry sky, and nearly a thousand people sit together to taste delicious food. The scene is very spectacular. During the banquet, the chefs will also come out on stage to receive applause and cheers from the diners. The culinary culture of Parma is closely related to its superior geographical location. It is located in the central region of Italy, known as the "Gourmet Valley". The 'Gourmet Valley' is rich in ingredients and has many food workshops.

According to reports, the Palma Food Festival was launched in 1964 and initially only 12 restaurants participated. More than 100 restaurants have actively participated in the food festival activities. This event has been sponsored by the Parma City Government, which hopes to use food as an opportunity to drive the development of the tourism industry.

Valencia, Spain, "City of Tapas"

The Spanish coastal city of Valencia also has its own food festival. Every spring, the Valencia Culinary Festival attracts renowned chefs from around the world. This year's festival is from May 11th to 21st. In addition to cooking special food for local people and tourists, chefs will also participate in seminars to create more creative food.

Valencia is the hometown of Spain's famous paella. In addition to seafood rice, the local "Tapas" is also increasingly favored by tourists. Tapas "refers to various snacks consumed by local people as a starter before dinner. Eva Fernandez of the Valencia Tourism Bureau told Global Times reporters that nowadays, "Tapas" not only has a rich variety, but its status has also become increasingly high. So much so that in some local taverns and even restaurants in Valencia, many diners can skip from various "tapas" for appetizers to desserts and wine after meals, because the combination of various "tapas" is enough to make a complete dinner.

Valencia also has a nickname called "City of Tapas", which reflects the popularity of Tapas here. When locals eat, they often have a catchphrase - 'less is more'. Tourists who have participated in the local food festival deeply agree with this. At the beginning of a meal, never overeat just because a certain type of tapas is delicious, otherwise you won't be able to eat even more delicious tapas later on. Starting to eat less is for the sake of being able to eat more later, and Valencians' 'less is more' is still very reasonable.

The reporter saw on the menus of multiple restaurants and taverns in Valencia that they usually offer 8 to 12 types of "Tapas", which are mainly made from local vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes, potatoes, red peppers, onions, garlic, olives, saffron, as well as seafood, pork, beef, and poultry. Add ham or fish, chicken, or shrimp as filling to potato balls like fried balls. The potato cake is a Egg cakes mixed with potatoes and onions. Other dishes include tomato bread, red chili grilled cod, eel pot, etc. The ingredients for 'Tapas' also come from the local area. Especially the central market in Valencia, which is one of the largest vegetable markets in Europe, with 1200 stalls selling various foods.

Eva told reporters that "Tapas" is very important for Valencia and even the entire Spain. It has risen to become a spirit in Valencia. It is a civilian delicacy. When everyone tastes it together, they always feel at ease, which is very in line with the free style of Valencians.

There are still many cities in Europe that rely on their cuisine to enhance their tourism industry, such as Berlin, which is famous for its curry sausages. However, in order to turn the 'internet celebrity' snack festival into a local culinary culture and a sign of the city, these cities need to continuously cultivate it. German cultural scholar Marcel Noel told reporters that European cities such as Lyon have done very well, emphasizing the sustainable development of cuisine and attracting global tourists in the long term.