Time to Party, its March after all!
Alan Coxon
Multi Award Winning Chef, Consultant, Author, President iTi Taste Institute chefs jury, President Chefs Sans Frontieres Int (CSF int), EU Ambassador DoE,RACA member, UK Spokesperson Organisation Mondial de la Gastronomie
I have once again missed a couple of foodie festivals that took place last month of which I would have loved to have attended.
the lemon festival in Menton, (South of France bordering Italy, with Monaco its closest neighbour), is where I have been meaning to return to, having worked as a chef in Monte Carlo for 4 years, it was always a wonderful feature in my new years calendar.
Alas, my last visit was many years ago and apparently it has gone from strength to strength, or maybe I should have just said that "its organisation has got “sharper” seeing we are talking lemons!?.
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?Other festivals missed include two truffle festivals and one goose festival that also took place last month in Sarlat ( South West of France in the Dordogne region)!.
Alas as we fast march into a new month, I try not to make the same mistake as I search for the ultimate celebrations.??
Apparently and according to some (mostly travel agents!), March is a great time to travel and there are many wonderful cultural festivals around the world. As the brochure says, ”it’s a great time to celebrate music, food, ceremonies and traditions that will stay with you forever”.
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One of those festivals at the very top of my own personal bucket list is in India and whilst it is not directly food related (a rarity for me) it offers up an abundance of colour and positive joy.
“Holi” as it is known is the festival of colours, best experienced at Mathura Vrindavan and marks the end of winter and welcomes in the Spring.
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During “Holi”, people play with dry paint, covering each other whilst giving hugs and forgetting the past!. It sounds like it is something my son would do, but you only live once, so I`m quite happy to paint the town red, literally or watch in a mature manner from the side-lines at least!.
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My other festival bucket list, whilst far more sedate than the first comes in the form of the “Japanese Cherry tree blossom festival” . It usually starts mid-March and lasts into April.
The place to witness the mass of blooms is by the Meguro river, where over 800 cherry blossom trees come to life, I am sure its rejuvenation is a sight for sore eyes.
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Another festival this month is the “Prague beer festival” and whilst not on my bucket list, if I stumbled upon it, then I would certainly be interested in sampling one of the 120 beers on offer, including 70 beers of Czech origin!. As I write this , the dates had not yet been confirmed but is usually towards the end of March, just in case your passing.
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Don’t forget that this month and closer to home its “St Patricks day”, so a trip to Ireland is the place to be, however, if you are needing a little more colour than shamrock green in your life, then Amsterdam offers up a feast for the eyes with 7 million colourful tulips and other seasonal flowers that start to come into spectacular bloom.
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If you can, do get to embrace what this new month has to offer, who knows with any luck I may even see you there.
? ?Alan x
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