In 1999, French food journalist Alexandre Cammas had an idea. His national cuisine had, he felt, become too rigid, too elitist and too alienating for younger generations. Throwing Michelin stars to the wind and taking a more playful approach, he set about defining a new, more relaxed movement within French cooking. In the ultimate affront to traditionalists, it was named using English words, with "food" and "feeling" morphing to become Le Fooding.
In the 10 years since the word's conception, Cammas has putting on food events across his homeland under the Fooding banner. The biggest success of them all, Le Grand Fooding d'été, kicks off again in Paris this Sunday, before moving across five other major cities before the end of June (Nice, Lyon, Strasbourg, Marseille, Toulouse).
Like a giant picnic, it offers tastings from some of the best young, inventive bistro chefs in the land, all accompanied by DJs, musicians and informal wine tastings. Proceeds from the €10 tickets go to an anti-hunger charity.
One drawback to the event's increasing popularity is that the most popular stalls tend to have queues. (Even supposedly non-pretentious French foodies still know the chefs to look out for and exactly who to make a beeline for.) However, the upside is the events are usually held in interesting venues, off the standard tourism circuit. Past Paris venues have included the gardens of MAC/VAL (Musée d'art contemporain du Val-de-Marne) and, this year, Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, where you can take a digestive break by heading to the La Lanterne viewpoint to enjoy a panorama of the city.
Come September, Le Fooding will be spreading its wings into the US and the inaugural New York City event is scheduled to take place in Queens at P.S 1 Contemporary Arts Centre, another less-visited gallery and one that is well worth a trip at any time of year. (Check out the outdoor gigs in the courtyard on Saturday evenings this summer)
• The first NYC event, Le Fooding d'Amour, will take place at P.S 1 on 25th and 26 September. Tickets will cost $30, with 1,000 people expected each night. For more details on this and the French events, see lefooding.com.
