Passion for Food and Culture: How French Saint Martin’s Gastronomy Festival Stole the Spotlight | The Peoples Tribune

The 4th edition of the Festival de la Gastronomie has elevated French Saint Martin’s status as a culinary gem of the Caribbean. Under the stewardship of Commissioner of Tourism and Culture Valérie Damaseau, it was nothing short of spectacular, exceeding expectations with its vibrant energy, record-breaking attendance, and innovative programming. Drawing over 4,000 attendees per village day and an incredible 6,000 for the highly anticipated BBQ competition, the festival firmly cemented its status as a cornerstone of culinary celebration in the Caribbean. From sold-out cooking classes to unique experiences like the “Taste of Sunrise Brunch” and wine-and-cheese pairings, this year’s event showcased the richness of Saint Martin’s gastronomic heritage. The unwavering support from the community, alongside partnerships with more than 50 local and international culinary talents, truly made this festival a resounding success and a testament to the island’s growing reputation as a culinary powerhouse. In this interview Commissioner Damaseau looks back the 4th edition and looks forward to the 5th.

How would you rate the overall success of this year’s festival, and did it meet your initial expectations in terms of turnout and impact?

This 4th edition of the Festival de la Gastronomie surpassed our expectations. With counting more than 4000 attendees per village day and more than 6000 attendees at the BBQ competition.

All 20 cooking classes were sold out and seeing the great attendance at the new concepts created, such as, the taste of sunrise brunch that is geared to highlight our local ambassador chefs aiming to showcase our local breakfast with a twist, to the wine and cheese pairing at various wineries are signs of the real success of this year’s festival.

The continuous support of the population and the partnership with the 50+ restaurants, food trucks, private chefs, mixologists, grill men and women are the real MVP’s of this event and the reason for its success.

What were some standout moments from the event, and what feedback have you received from participants, chefs, and attendees?

Our partnership with the Lycée Daniella Jeffrey School that allows us to highlight the culinary classes (chefs, servers…). Invited and local chefs were able to exchange with the students and give direct cooking classes and at the end help 6 students prepare their desired dishes as they competed in a student competition.  The winner then gets to travel for an internship in a top renowned restaurant and culinary trainer center. This collaboration is vital for the preservation and transmission of our culinary heritage.

Collaborating yearly with local ambassador chefs, giving them the opportunity to meet, learn and exchange with renowned chefs from around the globe and in return they show them the beauties of our island, share our know-how’s and have them taste our cuisine. It was our desire to have them be the only ones cooking at the taste of sunrise brunch to give them that full exposure and guarantee that the local aspect of the festival is met.

The BBQ competition, a night dedicated to highlighting the true essence of who we are as a people, the true local night. Smoke in the air, tones of grills with great dishes, did I say pigtails lol and local entertainers. Just missing our domino and belote corner lol.

I can go on and on because honestly every event is designated with a purpose. This festival is a promotional tool to highlight the riches of our island and the reason for which we are aiming to be branded as the culinary powerhouse of the Caribbean.  The population expressed their gratitude and their love for this event and voiced their opinion on the improvements that need to be done at key events where it was crowed.

The chefs were in awe. The level of Saint Martin’s hospitality, the fine dining, the students, the ambassador chefs, the level and the potential of the event. They all wish to return or simply become ambassadors for us. Few of them were even inspired and for those that came over the years went back and started hosting key events as such.

Were there any challenges in organizing this year’s edition? What lessons have been learned for future iterations?

Challenges? Not really. Our objective at this 4th edition was not to add anything but really try to fully evaluate what works, what isn’t working and what should be adjusted. We take every lesson learned from year one to this year and will continue to do so to build this promotional tool for the destination.

Besides being a victim of our success at key popular events such as the BBQ competition and trying to figure out the way to move forward, our goal is to start measuring the return on investment on an international level. A lot has been learned and taken into consideration. An event as such required hearing from our restaurants and adjust, the population and adjust and even our partners.

Can you share insights into how the festival has boosted local businesses, particularly participating restaurants, and the hospitality sector?

The full promotion given to this festival gives full publicity and marketing to the participating establishments. The focus made on highlighting a designated menu during this time also guarantees visibility, drives curiosity and traffic.

The fact that they are competing against each other, well, I consider it a friendly competition, also has them pushed to be at the top of their game and they are not only judged on their dish but the quality of service.

We are aware and now focus on trying to quantify the traffic in the establishments and giving much more focus to them because after all there won’t be no “Festival de la Gastronomie” without the restaurants.

What can attendees and participants expect for next year’s festival? Are there plans to expand its scope or introduce new elements?

We announced the key ingredient at the closing event, so everyone knows to look out for amazing dishes, desserts and cocktails based on the ingredient “Passion Fruit”.

We will be celebrating our 5th anniversary so expect great things. (LOL)

How do you plan to deepen community engagement, particularly among youth, in future festivals?

The plan is to strengthen our relationship with the schools given access to the future generation. Having them exchange with renowned chefs from around the globe that show them their technics but also share their lives journey.

Partnering with the restaurants for firsthand classes and having them as the key component of every workshop cooking alongside the invited chefs.

How effective was the international media campaign in achieving visibility for the island? Are there plans to collaborate with more global partners?

This festival has been growing so rapidly that at times we are honestly playing catch up. The plan has always been to capitalize on the chef’s visibility coming from their respective hometown inviting their population to join them at the festival with exact dates and festival website information.

We align the choice of chefs with our targeted markets.

1st North America

2nd Europe

3rd Regional

Our yearly campaign already includes the reason for which you should come to Saint-Martin but here we give you a fixed appointment to come and witness why culinary is one of our primary pillars.

We are focusing on doing more and collaborating with airlines and tour operators to expand our promotion of the festival, allowing us to drive tourists to the destination for a pre-season event.

With the growing focus on sustainability, are there plans to integrate eco-friendly practices into future editions of the festival?

Happy to announce that since year 2, we have implemented a cashless system and imposed the usage of biodegradable utensils. With our new partners joining us we know that we are on the right track.

Source: The Peoples Tribune https://www.thepeoplestribunesxm.com