'Gout de France' brings sustainable gastronomy to Korea

French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Lefort holds a plate of Tarte Tatin with cream at a breakfast meeting introducing the sixth edition of Gout de France at his residency in central Seoul, Oct. 14. Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yoo

By Kwon Mee-yoo

The sixth edition of Gout de France, also known as Good France, an international initiative promoting French cuisine, kicked off Oct. 14, centering on the culinary heritage and specialty of the Centre-Loire Valley region.

A handful of French restaurants in Korea will offer a special menu using ingredients and recipes from Centre-Loire Valley, also known as Centre-Val de Loire in French, and online events will also be held to complement the festival amid the pandemic.

French gastronomy was included in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010, becoming the first food culture to be recognized by the UN agency.

The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and chef Alain Ducasse launched Gout de France in 2015 to promote the country's culinary heritage as well as travel destinations for foodies around the world.

Since 2018, Gout de France highlighted specific regions of France, each with its unique produce and food culture ― Nouvelle Aquitaine in 2018 and Provence in 2019. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 edition was postponed to October from its original date in March.

"Centre-Loire Valley is not very well-known in Korea, but the region is known for its long culinary history on the Loire River, the longest river in France, and many 16th century castles. The region produces a wide range of wine and is famous for goat cheese," French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Lefort briefly explained the region during a breakfast meeting introducing Gout de France at his residence in central Seoul, Thursday.

The ambassador made Tarte Tatin, a French-style apple pie, with the embassy's chef Laurent Dallet in a video released on the embassy's YouTube channel.

Tarte Tatin originated from the Tatin sisters, who ran a hotel in Centre-Loire Valley. It was created by accident after Stephanie Tatin, while making an apple pie and due to bad timing, covered the pie's filling with the pastry base rather than the other way around, baked and inverted it, resulting in an a topless upside down pie, or tart.

How the mistake became a dessert now loved by many people, instead of simply being discarded, could be seen as an example of sustainable gastronomy, which is gaining more importance. The French government has been actively promoting environmentally-friendly and sustainable agriculture and food and published a white paper on sustainable gastronomy in 2019 as part of the Gout de France festival.

Lefort emphasized how gastronomic culture is related to each country's characteristics.

"Food is related to local produce and each country has unique local food. Culinary culture is based on the international exchanges of local food beyond borders and it cannot be separated from the country's distinct features and tourism," he said.

Lefort picked Korean buckwheat noodles as an example of how the same ingredient is used in varying ways in different cultural spheres.

"I like Korean buckwheat noodles because it brings back childhood memories. Buckwheat is mainly used to make crepes, or galettes, in France. I find it interesting how the same ingredient yields different types of dishes in different countries," Lefort said.

The ambassador also hoped the event will spark cultural and culinary tourism to France.

"France already reopened for tourism and vaccinated people can enter without any restrictions. About 86 percent of French people are fully vaccinated and I hope for France and Korea to agree on mutual recognition of vaccination certificates as soon as possible," Lefort said.

"Especially, Centre-Loire Valley would attract Korean tourists, who are environmentally conscious. You can even ride a bike through the region, along the Loire River."