Summer Food Festivals Around Europe

The summer is, of course, a time of bounty throughout much of Europe – with food ripening in the warm sun and all of us hoping to capture our own slice of time in the sun to relax and unwind. There’s something about the summer sun that screams good food  and we thought it would be great fun to take a look at some of the best summer food festivals from around Europe so that you can mix your summer break with some of the best food Europe has to offer.

Brussels – Chocolate capital, Belgium by EverJean

Brusselicious

One of the most exciting culinary events of 2012 Brusselicious promises to be the food festival of the year. The city of Brussels is hosting a yearlong event to mark its exceptional food with the main events being held throughout the summer months. Brussels is famous for its Chocolate, pastries, Beer and food and the event promises to be truly spectacular. Before we dive into the details consider that Belgium is the most famous chocolatier country in the world and has an exceptional record for producing the world’s best and most unusual beers – from traditional wheat beer to fruit beer. This year though the capital is pulling out all the stops with food sculptures, live cooking demonstrations, a PiQniQ summer festival, a sumptuous banquet with hundreds of marquees in early September and a chocolate extravaganza as we approach the winter months. If you’re planning a trip you’ll definitely need a serious diet when you come back but this promises to be an incredible culinary experience.

Copenhagen Cooking

While Nordic cuisine isn’t to everyone’s taste the annual Copenhagen Cooking festival, held from t 24th of August to the 2nd of September, is always an incredible affair and brings the city alive with wonderful food. It focuses on Nordic cuisine and pays homage to both traditional and modern cooking practices. The gourmet restaurants put on incredible meals throughout the festival at heavily reduced rates while you can see a variety of show coking and live demonstrations throughout the city. There’s a lot of fish unsurprisingly but you’ll be amazed at what is on offer. Along the Nørrebrogade you can find the spectacular “Taste the World” street kitchen with hundreds of exotic and less exotic offerings. Alternatively you can visit the “Eat 10” food fair with its vast selection of produce and plenty fo displays and lessons on offer. Copenhagen is a beautiful city in its own right and well worth visiting; with the food being the icing on the cake!

Italy’s Slow Food Festival

The Slow Food movement has gained massive international traction in the last few decades and started in Italy when, in 1980, Carlos Petrini led a huge campaign against McDonald’s opening at the Spanish Steps in Rome. The crusade resulted in a worldwide campaign and birthed the slow food festival around the world. However, nowhere is this festival more entrenched than in its birthplace Italy and throughout the country you can find summer slow food events. One of the best destinations to experience the festival is undoubtedly Maglie in Puglia. Their 4 day slow food festival is the perfect chance to sample Italian cuisine at its finest with a whole square dedicated to wine and countless stalls serving the very best in local and not so local produce. The evening and day time meals on offer throughout the festival are simply incredible. Throughout the region you can find an incredible array of food festivals at this time of year and if you can take a longer break we’d heartily recommend a tour of all the best food festivals in the region; from the Mola di Bari’s octopus festival to the Sagra della Frisa e del Pesce Fritto see food festival in Gallipoli.

France’s Feria du Riz

The Feria du Riz festival (The festival of Rice) is a very strange French festival as it has a very Spanish feel. While the majority of traveller’s will head to France’s local food festivals and enjoy the wine festivals approaching towards the end of the summer months for something unique and different you should really consider Feria du Riz in Arles. The festival is held in mid-September but the weather is still warm making it a great time to enjoy this part of France. The rice festival celebrates the local harvest and offers an incredible mix of seafood, French food, Spanish food and, of course, plenty of the local red Carmague rice. It’s a food festival at heart but there’s a whole world of entertainment from parades, music and street theatre to bull runs and horses. The hundreds of stalls selling a strange mix of food is incredible and the tapas and seafood concoctions are out of this world. The festival is also incredibly lively and there are lots of late night events making this a raucous and fun event through and through.

David is a writer for Holiday Insurance Web, offering travel insurance products.

Tags: chocolate extravaganza, city of brussels, culinary events, culinary experience, early september, food europe, food festival, food festivals, food sculptures, fruit beer, gourmet restaurants, marquees, planning a trip, slice of time, summer food, summer sun, sumptuous banquet, time in the sun, warm sun, wheat beer

Category: Festivals