#GOODFRANCE2017

After two successful editions, Goût de France/Good France, an initiative supported by Alain Ducasse and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is back with 2,000 participating restaurants worldwide and 50 restaurants across the UK.

On 21 March 2017, dinners served simultaneously in participating restaurants will highlight the merits of French cuisine, its capacity for innovation, and its values: sharing, enjoyment and respect for high-quality, environmentally-responsible food.

Ambassador Sylvie Bermann will host a dinner at her residence on the same night. The dinner will be prepared by Buckingham Palace’s Royal Chef Mark Flanagan, former MasterChef judge and French chef Amandine Chaignot and the French residence chef Gilles Quillot.

Sylvie Bermann: “Goût de France isn’t only about French cuisine, but also about the mix of cultures and how British and French chefs can influence one another. Each chef in his and her own way, contributes to France’s influence, or the influence of French culture in the UK, and I’d like to thank them for that. Some show the essential contribution European immigrants can make to this country. Could we survive a day in London without all the foreign chefs?”

In addition to 21 March, the French embassy has worked hard to develop many other gastronomic activities.

On 2 February a partnership was launched between the French Embassy and the charity Chefs Adopt a School. French and British chefs will visit bilingual schools together, to raise awareness among school children about healthy eating.

On 7 March the Ambassador will visit Ecole Marie d’Orliac with chef Amandine Chaignot and Sara Howard of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts. On the eve of International Women’s Day, it will be an opportunity to show the children that being a chef isn’t just for men.

On 9 March, the Ambassador will visit the University of West London for a “pre-Goût de France” dinner at the University’s award-winning Pillars restaurant, with food prepared by students from London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism – which will be an opportunity to highlight the importance of professional training and education.

The restaurants and chefs participating in this year’s Goût de France are truly diverse with many British chefs taking part, and a wide range of restaurants from newly opened Bistros to some of the most renowned restaurants in the world.

This year’s participants will also include four restaurants located in British prisons and run by The Clink Charity. Celebrated French chef Pascal Aussignac will be assisting them in preparing their menus for the big night.

Participating restaurants in the UK:

Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, Chef Jean-Philippe Blondet, London
Augustine Kitchen, Chef Franck Raymond, London
Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Chef Raymond Blanc, OBE, Oxfordshire
Bia bistrot, Chefs Roisin Llorente & Matthias Llorente, Edinburgh
Boulestin, Chef Elliot Spurdle, London
Brasserie Joel, Chef Walter Ishizuka, London
Brasserie Les Amis, Chef Peter McGrail, Edinburgh
Café boheme, Chef John Pattillo, Aberdeen
Cépages Wine Bistro, Chef Dan Cohen, London
Cigalon, Chef Julien Carlon, London
Club Gascon, Chef Pascal Aussignac, London
Comptoir Gascon, Chef Valentin Verdenet, London
Frenchie Covent Garden, Chef Greg Marchand, London
Gauthier Soho, Chef Alexis Gauthier, London
Kona, Chef David Tilly, London
La Bonne Auberge, Chef Gerry Sharkey, Glasgow
La Dame de Pic London – Four Seasons, Chefs Benjamin Brial, London
La Gourmandina, Chef Giulia Mastrorocco, London
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Chef Jeremy Page, London
Lazenby’s on York Place, Chef Simon Lazenby, Scarborough
Le Garrick, Chef Charles Lepelletier, London
Le petit Nantais, Chef Jean-Philippe Gravier, East Molesey
Le Roi Fou, Chef Henry Jerome, Edinburgh
L’Escargot, Chef James Tyrrell, London
Les Douceurs de la Tentation, Chef Dimitra Agapidis, London
Maison bleue, Chef Pascal Canevet, Bury St Edmunds
Mamie’s, Chef Aymeric Peurois, London
Mosimann’s, Chef Federico Pinelli, London
Number One, Chef Brian Grigor, Edinburgh
One-O-One Restaurant, Chef Pascal Proyart, London
Papillon, Chef Alexandros Porfyris, London
Patisserie Maxime, Chef Cyril Barthelme, Edinburgh
Petit Pois Bistro, Chef Chris Smith, London
Petite Terre, Chef Jean-Christphe Martinez, London
Pillars University of West London, Chefs Michael Coaker & Nathan Vasanthan, Ealing
Plateau, Chef Can Cropper, Brighton
Restaurant Martin Wishart, Chef Martin Wishart, Edinburgh
Rivea London, Chef Alexandre Nicolas, London
Sofitel St James Hotel London, Michael Buard, London
Taste, Chef Paul Clark, Cumbernauld
The Art School Restaurant, Chef Paul Askew, Liverpool
The Balcon London, Chef Michael Buard, London
The Clarendon Hotel, Chef Lionel Strub, Hebden
The Escoffier, Chef Stephen West, Bournemouth
The Greenhouse, Chef Arnaud Bignon, London
The Grill at The Dorchester, Chef Christophe Marleix, London
The Tokenhouse, Chef Paul Weller, London
Toulouse Lautrec, Chef Florent Regent, London
The Clink Restaurant, Paul Clarkson, Kerry Rickett, Sebastien Vanoni & Brendan Gough, London, Wilmslow, Cardiff & Surrey