The European Festival of Taste in Lublin is one of the most important multicultural festivals in Poland. It presents different aspects of culture, including music, images, words and cuisine.
Ambassadors of old culinary traditions
For the first time in the history of the festival there will be three international top chefs presenting their skills: Andrea Camastra from Italy, Boris Marcell from Colombia and Përparim Babalija from Kosovo. The special guest will be Robert Makłowicz, who was the first person to promote the local cuisine from the Lubelskie Region in Poland, devoting three episodes of his popular TV series to its traditional dishes.
These are renowned personalities, celebrities, but also humble ambassadors of old culinary traditions who know local flavours and promote using seasonal products in the kitchen. This aspect of their philosophy will be the main focus of their presentations at the festival. Through such or similar activities the organisers want to convince people attending the festival to turn towards regional and seasonal products, highlighting their existence and creative application in all areas – both in sophisticated and regional restaurants as well as in everyday home cooking. The culinary hero of the festival will be pork from the Lubelskie Region, the Puławska Pig in particular. The festival organisers want to promote this breed in Poland and introduce its meat to the best Polish restaurants during the next three editions.
Inspiration Fair
The festival is accompanied by the biggest Inspiration Fair in Poland. Its most important element is the encounter – the experience of being together in Lublin, getting to know one another, creating relations, bonds and trust. Going away from marketing and moving towards the idea of exchange (energy, goods and inspirations) seems to be the crucial element. People who decide to visit the fair make an effort, search for something and are a focal element in their experience. They build this experience, sharing time and space with others who come to the fair. They want to be involved and tell their personal story. When relations are built, encounters are a special mutual cause and not a business exchange. Such an approach satisfies actual needs and is not a fake substitute for a real give-and-take situation. A meeting table will first stand in front of the Centre for the Meeting of Cultures, to be later moved to the Town Hall. This table will promote regional products from Lubelskie Region. After all, this is the most important meeting: the meeting of cultures, cuisines and people.
The Armenia 2016 Edition
This year’s edition is devoted to the great culture of Armenia and organised together with the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in the Republic of Poland. One of the co-authors of this year’s festival programme is Edgar Ghazaryan, the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia, who visited the festival last year. The Armenia 2016 Edition is extremely important for Lublin. The Armenians used to live in Lublin and there is still an Armenian street and houses in nearby Zamość. The Armenian Church building doesn’t exist anymore but the city is protected by the Armenian Madonna. It is worth adding that there is a large Armenian community living in Lublin and Zamość these days. The Armenian cuisine is also a part of the multicultural cuisine of the Lubelskie Region.
The festival consists of the music, culture, spirit and taste zone, which present the culinary heritage of different nations. The culture zone includes various theatre performances, art exhibitions, literary meetings and photography workshops. The spirit zone is a meeting of two churches in the Dominican Order monastery. According to the tradition, it was the place of disputes with the gentile in the spirit of dialogue and not violence.
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Photo © The European Festival of Taste in Lublin.