Categories: New
Date: Apr 8, 2011
Title: 2012 Year of Gastronomy in Brussels and Wallonia
New York, NY - Celebrating the ingenuity and creativity of Belgian cuisine and art de vivre, the Belgian Tourist Office announced the 2012 Year of Gastronomy campaign, showcasing Brussels and Wallonia, French-speaking Belgium, as a gastronomic destination featuring Brusselicious 2012–A Gourmet Odyssey and much, much more.
Beyond moules frites, Belgium is a gastronomic delight and next year Brussels and Wallonia plan to show off its many riches. From Michelin-starred chefs to the one and only Beer Route (more than 650 types of beer!), from Chocolate to Wépion strawberries, with site-specific Gourmet Happenings and Food Festivals galore, including the European Final of the Bocuse d'Or in March 2012, Belgium is ready to divulge its secrets.
This gourmet celebration will reinforce Belgium as a gastronomic destination and highlight its quality and creativity, promote Belgium’s delicious specialties and feature the entire food sector–thousands of passionate people, from producers to famous chefs, who protect and further the excellent reputation of Belgian gastronomy.
Visitors to Brussels and Wallonia in 2012 will have an array of enticing, original and fun events to choose from: Behold those iconic symbols of Belgium cuisine, such as mussels or the eponymous Brussels sprouts presented as larger-than-life sculptures all around town. Tour the city on the Brussels Food Tramway, dining and sight-seeing as you go. See what the Taste Magician has up his sleeve, as he roams the streets with only an electric heating plate to concoct local dishes with whatever products are at hand. Confirmed epicureans will enjoy unique gourmet experiences, where location and food come together in extraordinary harmony: savor roasted wild boar and guinea fowl in the courtyard of the Town Hall accompanied by a folkloric fair in the Grand’ Place with bear trainers and minstrels or sip champagne accompanied by a caviar and lobster dinner in the prestigious Art deco rooms of the Villa Empain. And partake in the Beer Cafés Rally when beer and conviviality become part and parcel of Belgium art de vivre.
The gastronomic calendar will be brimming with food fairs, chocolate tastings and beer drinking. With Belgium’s 2012 Year of Gastronomy, expect the unexpected. You are invited to stay, eat and come back for seconds!
For a calendar of events, visit www.brusselicious.be or www.visitbelgium.com.
For related photos, please visit our VisitBelgiumUS Photostream on Flickr.
You can also share our video Grab A Bit In... Belgium:
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
BELGIUM TOURIST OFFICE
Katie Papadopoulos
(212) 758-8130 ext 11