Categories: New
      Date: Sep 22, 2011
     Title: Explore Belgium's Culinary Delights in 2012

Belgian Tourist Office Announces 2012 Year of Gastronomy

Gourmet Celebration Highlights Belgium as a Gastronomic Destination

New York, NY - (September 23, 2011) - Celebrating the ingenuity and creativity of Belgian cuisine and art-de-vivre, the Belgian Tourist Office announced today the 2012 Year of Gastronomy and the launch of the NEW Belgian Bites corner of www.visitbelgium.com, showcasing Brussels and French-speaking Belgium, Wallonia, as a gastronomic destination.

Visitors to Brussels and Wallonia in 2012 will have an array of enticing, original and fun events to choose from all year long:

• Tour the city on the Brussels Food Tramway dining and sight-seeing as you go in a tram car redesigned by a local Brussels designer.

• 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.

• Discover unusual festivities like the Giant Omlette Celebration of Malmedy, the Soup Festival of la Roche-en-Ardennes and Belgian-style barbeques in Brussels.

• Partake in the Beer Cafés Rally when beer and conviviality become part and parcel of Belgium’s art-de-vivre.

• Confirmed epicureans will enjoy unique gourmet experiences, where location and food come together in extraordinary harmony: dine in the courtyard of the Town Hall alongside a folkloric fair in the Grand’ Place or sip champagne accompanied by a caviar and lobster dinner in the prestigious Art deco rooms of the Villa Empain.

Beyond moules frites, Belgium is a culinary delight full of tasty riches. From Michelin-starred chefs to the one and only Beer Route (more than 650 types of beer!), from Chocolate to Wépion strawberries (the sweetest in the world) to 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.

For a sneak preview, the Belgian Tourist Office invited Chef Mike Colameco, host of Mike Colameco’s Real Food on PBS, to French-speaking Belgium on a fun and festive road trip: Mike met a cast of colorful Belgian foodies who introduced him to the pleasures of Belgian chocolate, beer, waffles and everything in between.  Along the way, viewers go behind the scenes with famed Belgian chefs, tour markets, gourmet food stores, hotel dining rooms and encounter sights and sounds throughout French-speaking Belgium that prove to be well worth the detour!

To watch the two Belgian episodes of Mike Colameco’s Real Food go to the Videos section of the NEW Belgian Bites corner of www.visitbelgium.com. This new page is a resource for all things Belgian gastronomy, with food and events calendars, market schedules, restaurant recommendations, recipes and much more waiting to be discovered. These episode were brought to you by the Belgian Tourist Office, with the generous support of American Airlines, Rail Europe, the Hotel Amigo and the Province of Liège.

During 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 Bite In... Belgium:

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Press Contact:         

Katie Papadopoulos

212.758.8130 x11

katie@visitbelgium.com