On Thursday 19 March, 20 restaurants around the UK will join over 1,300 chefs from all five continents for a worldwide celebration of French food and drink.

Goût de France/Good France is a global initiative supported by the French Foreign Ministry and three-Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse. The event showcases a cuisine that is dynamic, outward-looking and innovative, whilst remaining true to its values of sharing, enjoyment and respect for good food.

In the UK, chefs at 20 restaurants have devised special French gourmet menus, which will be served to diners on 19 March. Menus include a traditional French aperitif, hot and cold starters, a fish course, a meat course, a cheese course, a chocolate dessert and French wines and liqueurs.

A range of restaurants – from local bistros to fine dining – are taking part, and menus start at £19.50. Menus will be based on fresh, seasonal and local produce with reduced levels of fat, sugar, salt and protein. Dishes already announced include scallops with blood oranges, roast partridge breast, wild seabass with celeriac, and white chocolate and rhubarb soufflé.

The participating UK restaurants are:

• Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester (London)

Chef: Jocelyn Herland

• Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons (Great Milton)

Chef: Raymond Blanc

• Boulestin (London)

Chef : Andrew Woodford

• Boundary Restaurant (London)

Chef: Frederick Forster

• Brasserie Joel (London)

Chef : Ishizuka Walter

• Brasserie Zedel (London)

Chef : Andrew Parkinson

• Casse-Croûte (London)

Chef : Sylvain Soulard

• Club Gascon (London)

Chef : Pascal Aussignac

• Escoffier (London)

Chef : Jonathon Warner

• Hutchesons Glasgow (Glasgow)

Chef : Eric Avenier

• L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (London)

Chef: Xavier Boyer

• Le Petit Nantais (Hampton Court Village)

Chef : Jean-Philippe Gravier

• Marianne (London)

Chef: Marianne Lumb

• Mirabelle (Harrogate)

Chef: Lionel Strub

• Pollen Street Social (London)

Chef: Jason Atherton

• Rivea London (London)

Chef: Alexandre Nicolas

• The Balcon (London)

Chef: Vincent Menager

• The Grill at the Dorchester (London)

Chef: Christophe Marleix

• The Vineyard (Newbury)

Chef: Daniel Galmiche

• Pillars Restaurant, University of West London (London)

Chef: The students, led by Chef Coaker

Members of the public can view participating restaurants' menus on the Good France website: www.goodfrance.com. Table bookings should be made directly with the restaurant. 

On 19 March, the French Ambassador to the UK, Sylvie Bermann, will host a Goût de France/Good France VIP gala dinner at the French Residence, in the presence of French Minister of State for Foreign Trade, the Promotion of Tourism and French Nationals Abroad, Matthias Fekl.

Laurent Fabius, French Foreign Minister, said: “France's heritage is its cuisine, its wines (...) The gastronomic meal of the French has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2010, but it is a heritage that should not simply be contemplated, glorified and savoured; it is a heritage that should be built upon and showcased.”

Chef Alain Ducasse said: “The common point of this event is generosity, sharing and the love of what is beautiful and tastes good. It will be a delightful interlude and an opportunity to celebrate French cuisine worldwide.”

ENDS/..

For more information, please contact:

Paul Salvaire, Deputy Press Counsellor & Head of Ambassador's Private Office:

paul.salvaire@diplomatie.gouv.fr / +44 (0)20 7073 1018

Sarah Savage, Press Attaché:

sarah.savage@diplomatie.gouv.fr / +44 (0)20 7073 1028

Anne Pedersen, Head of PR - Atout France

anne.pedersen@atout-france.fr

Notes to editors

About Goût de France/Good France

On 19 March 2015, 1,300 chefs on five continents will at once be preparing a French meal.

Through these dinners, chefs and diners will celebrate the excellence, diversity and modernity of France's gastronomy.

The Goût de France/Good France project is supported by the French Foreign Ministry and by chef Alain Ducasse. It is a unique opportunity to enjoy and share the taste of France through a festive event on an international scale.

The dinner will involve the creation of a menu to showcase French gastronomy, with chefs being free to adapt their offers to their own markets and quality local produce.

In addition to the participating restaurants, French embassies around the world will be hosting dinners at the French ambassadors' residences on Thursday 19 March.

Website: www.goodfrance.com

Twitter: @Good_France  #GoodFrance

The restaurants

Restaurants from around the world, from bistros to those serving haute cuisine, were invited to apply by submitting a menu that promoted French gastronomy: cuisine that uses fresh, seasonal and local products; uses less fat, sugar and salt; promotes “eating well” and the environment; and gives prominence to vegetables.

An international committee of chefs, chaired by Alain Ducasse and bringing together around 40 renowned international chefs, approved the list of participating chefs on the basis of the coherence and quality of their proposed menus.

Participating chefs around the world include Paul Bocuse (France), Raymond Blanc (United Kingdom), Thomas Keller (United States), Kiyomi Mikuni (Japan), Paul Pairet (China), Joël Robuchon (France), Nadia Santini (Italy) and Guy Savoy (France).