Delicious Dordogne: The Gourmet Book Fair in Périgueux

It’s not only truffles, foie gras and walnuts that are famous in Périgord!

Every two years, the Périgueux Salon du Livre Gourmand, in the Dordogne region, pays a mouthwatering tribute to literature and gastronomy – and each time the menu is rich, colorful and tempting.

With the mission statement “something for everyone,” 2018’s edition sees 100 chefs, publishers and authors arriving during the weekend, not to mention local producers and artisans, farmers, and book lovers.

For this 15th edition, the theme is “Faire & Savoir-faire” (“Make and Know How”– a little lost in translation – but you get the picture!)

CLAP (Culture Loisirs Animations Périgueux), the fair’s organisers, asked Pierre Hermé, dubbed “the Picasso of pâtisserie” by Vogue magazine, to be this year’s honorary president. Hailing from Alsace, Hermé began his career age 14 with Gaston Lenôtre, then went on to train with Fauchon and Ladurée, subsequently launching his brand in 1998 with his associate the savvy businessman Charles Znaty.

The only pastry chef to have been decorated Chevalier of Arts and Letters, in May 2007 he was awarded Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur by Jacques Chirac, and, in 2016 voted “best pastry chef in the world” by 50 Best Restaurants.

Present at the fair will be 100 authors and chefs including Trish Deseine, Sophie Dudemaine, Guillaume Gomez chef at L’Elysée Palace, Michel & Augustin, Ferrandi School, Paris. They will meet, greet and present their work to 20,000 visitors during three exciting days – with 5,000 books to discover – new flavours to taste.

Michelin star chefs will celebrate their publications. Vincent Arnould of the local iconic Vieux Logis for “A Gourmet Tour of the Périgord” Thirteen Chefs – 35 recipes.

Marc Veyrat will dedicate his Path of Flowers and Thorns. Celebrity TV presenter Maïtena Biraben will debate obscure and surprising vegetables before or after Marie Sophie L, the Queen of Raw, reveals all in Ma Vie en Raw.

This year in the slick custom kitchen you can get hands on with the chefs, follow the Tapas Road on Friday and Saturday night, and the “Path of Soups” with the participating partner restaurants of the fair.

GOURMET WALKS
On November 24 and 25, the city will offer walks themed around the history of gastronomy and the town’s ancient hostelleries. Meeting point on place Saint-Louis– deliciously chosen, since it fronts the Maison du Pâtissier Périgueux. Tarif €4.5/€7 includes tastings! Find out more here.

DOWN ON THE FARM
Together with the FDSEA (La Fédération Départementale des Syndicats d’Exploitants Agricoles), the city of Périgueux’s bucolic farm on Place André-Maurois provides the perfect opportunity for the public to exchange with breeders and agriculturalists.

A fun and colourful space is dedicated to workshops for children – in homage to the pre-surrealist work of Guiseppe Arcimboldo, the 16th century Renaissance painter known for his wacky, kitsch portraits of plants, animals and objects.

On Friday night the 23rd of November, the jury, headed by Pierre Hermé, will announce the winners of the Prix La Mazille (last year awarded to Bruno Oliver for La cuisine de Mon Grand-Père. Oliver is the grandson of Raymond Oliver, the legendary chef/owner of Le Grand Vefour, Paris, who died in 1990. And the Prix Les Savoureuses – awarded to women authors – was won last year by Le Monde’s Camille Labro.

Henry Miller, the American writer who made appetite a central theme of his work, mused in his book The Colossus of Maroussi that the Dordogne felt like a place where living well appeared to have been the default mode for millennia.

See you there!

23, 24 & 25 November, 2018
Entry €4 – 3 day pass €10 – under 12s free
From 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Programme available on :
http://www.livre-gourmand.com