The most unusual food festivals. The most unusual food festivals from around the world Food festival in the world
An impressive guide to the best gastronomic festivals around the world. Professional chefs, the best restaurants, unpretentious street food, organic products and conscious consumption, as well as music, communication and fun - choose what you like.
San Sebastian Gastronomy
Spain, San Sebastian
When: 08/10/2017 - 11/10/2017
Cost: € 300
More than just a food festival, Foodronomics is the ultimate conference that brings together culinary geniuses from around the world to explore, discuss and learn. This year's theme is India. If something interesting appears in restaurants around the world in 2018, most likely it will be presented at Gastronomika. During the conference, restaurants prepare a special menu with guest chefs.
Highly recommended for foodies in search of new knowledge, professional chefs, restaurateurs, critics and others involved in the gastronomic whirlwind. Where else to recharge your taste and knowledge, if not in a city with 16 Michelin stars?
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Peixe em Lisboa: fish & flavor
Portugal, Lisbon
When: 30/03/2017 - 09/04/2017
Cost: € 12 per day
One day, the Lisbon Tourism Association decided it was time to do some really cool stuff and invest in something more than enough - seafood. This is how the successful fish festival, which turns 10 this year, was born.
The task of the festival is to tell that seafood is cool and tasty, especially if a couple of hours ago they were still in the ocean, and caring local fishermen caught them with nets. We assure you, after the festival, you will finally understand why some people, having been in Portugal, feel sad over a thawed salmon steak. And of course, cooking and wine classes, tastings from top chefs from all over Europe, gastronomic shows. Well, not all the time to surf and bask on the beach!
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Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival 2017
Denmark, Copenhagen
When: 18/08/2017 - 27/08/2017
Cost: follow the info on the website
A ten-day leisurely celebration of Nordic food, music and great people. What could be better than sitting at a large table in a field full of herbs, which you will soon see on your plate in all sorts of manifestations? What could be better than discovering a new cuisine?
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MAD6
Denmark, Copenhagen
When: end of August (exact date not yet announced)
Cost: tickets will be available in May
"Mad" means "food" in Danish, and is also a non-profit organization that was invented by René Redzepi himself - the famous chef of the two-Michelin restaurant NOMA, who was at the origins of the new Nordic cuisine. MAD expands the boundaries of knowledge about food, strives to make everything even more interesting and tastier. This is exactly what the symposium will be able to do: study and teach, push the established gastronomic framework, build the future. The MAD6 topic was still announced, but you should carefully follow the updates in May, because. There are few places, but many applicants.
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Berlin Food Art Week 2017
Germany Berlin
When: 07/07/2017 - 14/07/2017
Art meet Food has been around since 2015, when the Entretempo Kitchen Gallery first hosted Berlin Art Week, bringing together over 100 artists and gastronomic enthusiasts, bringing together the possibilities of art and the sensory experience of food. This year the week will be held under the theme “Vs. Meat" and will cover the topics of human and animal rights, feminism, conscious consumption, the environment and sustainable development. Particular attention will be paid to the social, political and technological aspects of the meat industry. Not only chefs, but also artists, activists, filmmakers and scientists will express their views on the problem. All this is so that tears well up.
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Gourmet Fesztival
Hungary, Budapest
When: 18/05/2017 - 21/05/2017
Cost: € 11.5
The Sziget festival has a gastronomic brother, and his name is Gourment. Here you will have the opportunity to taste all the variety of Central European cuisine in one place (Millenáris park in the center) - from street food to a Michelin-starred restaurant. Ana Rosh from Slovenia, the best female chef in the world, has already confirmed her participation. This year, the focus will be on dishes from domestic Hungarian pig mangalica and strawberries.
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Rolling Kitchen
Netherlands, Amsterdam
When: 24/05/2017 - 28/05/2017
Cost: free
Several dozen food trucks will gather for a week in the area Westergasfabriek, which was once a gas factory, and is now used as a cultural platform and food court. Street food from all over the world, unusual types of pizza, homemade meatballs, lots of music and fun.
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Food Soul Festival
Netherlands, Amsterdam
When: 25/05/2017 - 28/05/2017
Cost: € 7.5
Around the same time, there will also be a street food festival in Amsterdam. Lines, loud music, beer, herring, burgers and hot dogs - your comfort zone. Paradise for fans of kitchens on wheels that cut across Holland. Now you know where to go to food coma for a few days at the end of May.
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Taste of London
Great Britain, London
When: 14/06/2017 - 18/06/2017
Cost: from £13
Taste Festival - a restaurant festival that has captured the whole world, began in 2004 in London. Taste brings together famous places, chefs and bartenders for several days in one place to present the best institutions in different cities of the world. Tasting portions, master classes and a sea of drinks - check the schedule http://tastefestivals.com and decide for yourself whose restaurant industry you will meet.
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The Big Festival
Great Britain, London
When: 25/08/2017 - 27/08/2017
Cost: £179.50
If you follow Jamie Oliver's Instagram, you've probably seen him and his family rock out at The Big Festival. You can talk about the event in three hashtags #ComforFood, #Music and #Family, and feel it only on the spot. Party like family person.
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meatopia
Great Britain, London
When: 01/08/2017 - 03/08/2017
Cost: from £23.85, there are free events
There is nothing worse than a person who pretends that his meat grew on a tree and is not related to environmental issues throughout the Earth. Meatopia is a meat festival with a special approach to using the highest quality, sustainably sourced products with minimal waste. The best attitude, products and chefs. To go to eat meat the way it should be - happy, healthy, expensive.
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Savor Kilkenny
Ireland, Kilkenny
When: 26/10/2017 - 30/10/2017
Cost: lady for info on the site
The most amazing gastronomic festivals happen in small towns. For example, in the small Irish town of Kilkenny, the most active and interesting representatives of local gastronomy gather in October, eminent chefs themselves organize master classes - all this seems to be without lengthy preparations and dozens of sponsors. In general, the naturalness and free spirit of Ireland. If you've been planning to visit Ireland for a long time, it's time to stop postponing an amazing trip. You will meet the Irish in their natural habitat - for food and drink.
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Gastrocamp "Change"
Russia, village Nikola-Lenivets
When: date not yet announced
Cost: not yet announced
Last year, in the legendary village of Nikola-Lenivets, a gastronomic experiment took place with the participation of the best Russian and foreign chefs, local products from neighboring farms and the burning eyes of the organizers. At the camp, they went to the forest for herbs, mushrooms and berries, changed the menu right before serving, baked bread in the oven, “burned” under the scorching sun and broke the applause at the final dinner for 200 people.
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Oh yes! Food!
Russia, Saint-Petersburg
When: 29/06/2017 - 30/06/2017
Cost: follow the info on the website
"Oh yeah! Food!" - a festival that takes place throughout Russia under different slogans every year. About 200 participants will be present at the main city picnic, and the Big Summer Festival will also include several specialized ones - the coffee festival, the Meat Clearing festival, the malt and hop festival and “Oh, yes! Eco-eater! The theme of the festival this year is "Street". Guests of the event will be able not only to have a good time and taste dishes from the special festival menu, but also to learn a lot of new things - visit the Gastronomic Theatre, the Culinary Stage and master classes in the Lecture Hall. Also at the festival it will be possible to watch performances by representatives of street sports, street art and listen to performances of street musicians.
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Fish Food Festival
Russia, Kaliningrad
When: 28/04/2017 - 01/05/2017
Cost: follow the info on the website
As we said, the best food festival is a small festival. In Kaliningrad, it is exactly like this: cozy, tasty, friendly. You can get acquainted with a good example of the work of the local community united around the Kaliningrad Street Food initiative.
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street food festival
Ukraine, Kiev
When: 08/04/2017 - 09/04/2017
Cost: 75 hryvnia
For four years, the Ulichnaya eda team has been inviting the best representatives of Kiev gastronomy to the Platforma art factory and giving newcomers a chance to express themselves. This year, the musical part of the Istok studio, represented by young and unknown musicians, joined the festival. What is not a reason to rush to Kiev for spring break?
Before the first international gastronomic festival in Kaliningrad"Street food weekend" just over a month left. Recall that it will take place on August 23. In the meantime, “Restaurants of New Kaliningrad. Ru” and the organizers of the festival have prepared for you a large selection of the most famous gastronomic festivals in Europe and Russia. In our first review, you will find out which festival only Michelin laureates can participate in, where the onion queen is chosen, where to go dressed up in a futuristic outfit to try molecular cuisine, and which two Moscow food festivals you should definitely go to find out absolutely everything about Russian food and cuisine.
Where does it take place: Kunstragården Park (King's Garden), Stockholm, Sweden
When does it pass : first week of June
What is : an exhibition of achievements in the culinary arts, one of the most important and major events in Sweden. Every year at the beginning of June, hundreds of thousands of guests from all over the world flock to the King's Garden, united by a common interest - an interest in food. The Taste of Stockholm brings together the best chefs and the best restaurants in Stockholm, offering their signature dishes and drinks. During the festival week, you can try everything that Stockholm has to offer: from the most traditional Swedish dishes to exotic recipes from other parts of the world. A large role at the festival is given to environmentally friendly products, as well as such culinary approaches that allow you to take care of health and the environment. Anyone can become a participant in culinary competitions or a special tasting. As for the entertainment and “inedible” program, more than a hundred local artists exhibit their paintings at the “Taste of Stockholm”, there are concerts of performers working in various musical directions: jazz, rock, modern music and even medieval ballads.
Where does it take place : Helsinki, Finland
When does it pass : mid-March
What is : What it is: a street food festival in which the best chefs of the planet take part to feed the residents and guests of the Finnish capital. The festival is divided into three separate thematic parts: Talks, Eats and Parties. The organization of the first section of the festival is held on the basis of the popular exhibition Gastro Fair, in which several hundred specialists in the field of gastronomy, supporters of street food and just those who love such food participate. Editors of well-known culinary magazines, organizers of various fairs, as well as creators of famous restaurants speak at the event and share their experience. Entrance is free for everyone. The main event of the festival - "Food" - takes place in the center of Tori Quarters, located in the heart of the capital of Finland, which invites guests and residents of the city to appreciate the latest trends in world cuisines and the ingenuity of the best culinary specialists, whose specialization is closely related to street food. Visitors to the event will be treated to the best dishes prepared from the freshest products in a unique creative atmosphere. Entrance to the final part of the street food festival in the Finnish capital is free.
Baltic herring festival
Location: Helsinki, Finland
When does it pass : early October
What is : a Finnish gastronomic celebration that takes place neatly at the end of the herring season. This is one of the oldest national northern holidays - the first "herring" festival was held in 1743. Every year more and more guests come to it. The fair takes place at the Market Square in Helsinki. Here you can find herring for every taste: salted, lightly salted, marinated, with various sauces... Well, besides fish at the festival, you should also buy original "hand-made" from Finnish artisans, for example, traditional Finnish woolen sweaters with ornaments, which are beautifully protect from autumn winds and winter cold.
Where does it take place : Moscow, Russia
What is : What is it: a street food festival and an open-air gastronomic party in one bottle. For the second year in a row, the creators of Russia's first dinner party club have been collecting the cream of Moscow's street food, opening up new territories and spaces. 20–25 of the most interesting participants in the street food movement in Moscow are participating. To the accompaniment of DJs and street musicians, large courtyards and parks of the city turn into a cluster of trend-setters, representatives of creative industries, foodies and active citizens united by the desire to have a great Sunday evening, try something new and make new friends.
Where does it take place: Moscow, Russia
When does it pass: July
What is: the main domestic food festival in Russia from the most famous and respected food magazine. The Food Celebration brings together restaurateurs, farmers, critics and young food activists. Everyone in one day can appreciate all the most interesting things that happen in Russian cuisine. The last festival in Gorky Park featured 50 of the best restaurants in the city, a beginner gastro-enthusiast market, the best shops for tableware and related products, a farmer's market, and many areas for master classes. For those who didn’t get to the big “Food” this year, there is a second chance to still be in time: on the last Saturday of August in Kolomenskoye, the “Food” holiday will cover the glade for the “Picnic” of Afisha.
Where does it take place : Copenhagen, Denmark
When does it pass : in February of each year, lasts a whole month
What is : performances, retreats, theatrical performances, workshops on innovative methods and developments, music concerts - all these entertaining and not very events are dedicated to food. The patron of the festival is Her Royal Majesty Princess Mary. The main feature of Copenhagen Cooking is the attitude towards food and its preparation as an art. Thanks to all sorts of theatrical performances, festival guests will be able to look at the decoration of the most ordinary dishes in a different way. Chefs create real architectural objects and installations from products. For example, Anderson's well-known fairy tale "The Snow Queen" turns into a real gastronomic miracle. For those who like to eat in the right style and mood, the Copenhagen Food Festival offers themed nights. From a mafia-style evening with Sicilian and Mediterranean cuisine, to a Finnish party featuring only fish and pickled vegetables, to a futuristic party serving molecular cuisine. In this case, a special dress code is mandatory.
Onion Fair in Weimar
Incredible Facts
You probably heard more than once in your childhood that you can’t play with food.
However, in some cities, not only is it not forbidden to play with food, but also its worship, throwing, cutting and other inappropriate actions are encouraged.
Here are 10 holidays where you can pay tribute to your favorite product and have a lot of fun.
Throwing oranges, Italy
Every year, residents of the city of Ivrea in Italy celebrate the three days before Lent by throwing oranges at each other. According to legend, the medieval prince of Ivrea was so miserly that he gave his peasants only one pot of peas every six months. In protest, residents began to throw peas on the streets. A few years later, peas were replaced by oranges, which grew in abundance in southern Italy. During the implementation of the tradition of throwing oranges, revelers caught in the parade crowd are thrown with these fruits. Quite often this leads to minor injuries, so it is best to bring swimming goggles and a helmet with you.
Cheese rolling down Cooper's Hill, England
Every spring in England there is a festival in which a large head of cheese rolls down a steep hill, and dozens of Britons roll after it. The competition threatens them with sprained ankles, fractures and huge bruises. So why are the participants trying so hard? The winner only gets the honor of holding a head of cheese.
No one knows exactly how or why the cheese race began, but according to local legend, the tradition goes back to ancient Rome. However, this festival did not always go smoothly. During the Second World War, when there was a shortage of cheese in the country, not a whole head of cheese was rolled down from the mountain. Double Gloucester, but a small piece of this cheese placed in a wooden wheel. An even greater threat loomed over the competition in 1997, when the participants had so many injuries that the authorities decided to take some measures. The next year, cheese was allowed to be rolled, but no one was allowed to run after it. However, the new tradition did not take root and lasted only a year, after which thrill-seekers continued the tradition of riding for cheese.
Lopburi Monkey Festival, Thailand
Like many other places in Thailand, the city of Lopburi is full of macaques. They swing freely through the streets, ride on the roofs of cars and snatch food from the hands of unsuspecting tourists. And, despite the fact that these monkeys are quite annoying, the Thais idolize them. According to Hindu legend, a god named Hanuman (monkey king) once ruled here. In his honor, the city is celebrating the occasion by hosting a smorgasbord for 2,000 monkeys. The tables are lined with tropical fruits, spicy rice dishes and modern drinks like Coca-Cola, while the monkeys themselves go on a rampage.
Night of the Radish, Mexico
When Spanish explorers brought radishes to Mexico in the 16th century, farmers near the present-day city of Oaxaca immediately began to grow these vegetables. Unfortunately, no one wanted to buy them. The sellers, not knowing what to do with the surplus of products, began to make various crafts from radishes in order to attract buyers.
Surprisingly, it worked. The new product became so popular that farmers began to leave radishes in the ground, allowing them to grow into incredible and bizarre shapes and sizes. Now, on December 23 of every year in Mexico in the city of Oaxaca, the holiday "Night of Radishes" is celebrated. Residents gather in the city square to exhibit and admire radish sculptures representing saints, Nativity scenes and the city itself.
Oil wrestling, Turkey
Olive oil is so loved in Turkey that it plays a major role in one of the nation's favorite pastimes, the Kirkpinar wrestling contest. For 650 years, this tournament has been one of the most popular ongoing sporting events in the country. Every June, over 1,000 wrestlers slather themselves with slippery olive oil before entering the ring. All that fat makes the fight ridiculously slippery, but that doesn't stop the contestants from taking it seriously. The competition lasts three days, and the winner is awarded the country's preeminent sports star.
Gastronomic feast del Gato
In the small Peruvian farming town of La Quebrada, people honor their ancestors in a rather strange way. Every year they have a feast by eating cats. The locals, who host a cat festival, are trying to pay tribute to the city's settlers. The once poor slaves survived only by eating cat meat. Despite outrage from animal rights activists and cat lovers from all over the world, the festival is becoming more and more popular every year. During recent festivities, such delights as "Milanese cat" and "grilled cat with Peruvian black mint" were offered.
Roadkill Cooking Competition, USA
Every year, West Virginia hosts a cooking competition that was the result of a law introduced in 1998 that allowed people to eat any meat that was found on the side of a highway. The motto of the holiday is: You killed him - we roasted him!" The holiday menu is very diverse, including reindeer fajitas, buzzard barbecue, squirrel sauce and other dishes.
Flour fight on Clean Monday, Greece
In many parts of the world, people go wild during carnivals, but in the Greek coastal town of Galaxidi, the fun begins after a festival known as Clean Monday. At this time, the inhabitants of the town begin to shower each other with multi-colored flour from bags, powdering the whole city like donuts. The paint added to the flour is quite resistant, leaving stains on old buildings, so before dumping more than a thousand kilograms of flour on the city, residents cover most of the city with polyethylene.
Mamemaki ritual, Japan
For centuries, the Japanese have celebrated the beginning of spring by exorcising the devil from their homes. The most common way to achieve this is through a ritual mamemaki, during which families scatter soybeans around the house, saying: " Demons out! Happiness in the house!". At the end of the ritual, the participants collect the beans and eat one bean for each year of their lives, ensuring their happiness for the whole year.
Today, children are often seen on the streets of Japan furiously throwing soybeans through the streets, while monks and famous people hold celebrations in large temples, showering the public with soybeans.
Shepherd's Scandal Festival, New Zealand
Few people can surpass the New Zealanders in originality. New Zealand hosts the Shepherd's Scandal festival, which is a 3K race in which shepherds and their dogs go through an obstacle course where various food challenges are offered. Previous races have offered sheep's eyes and butter-pickled insects, but 2008 was marked by some of the strangest foods. Participants had to run 50 meters while holding raw bull eggs in their mouths. After the taste of this "treat" evaporated, they had to eat breakfast cereal, a raw egg and drink a mug of warm beer.
Food festivals, which are held in different countries of the world, gather thousands of tourists who want to try gastronomic delights and learn the secrets of their preparation. The best chefs are usually honored to be part of such events and present their creations to guests. If you want your vacation to be not just good, but excellent, then you should find out in which countries, cities and at what time in the world the largest and most delicious gastronomic festivals take place.
St. Moritz Gourmet Festival
Location: St. Moritz, Switzerland
Date: last week of January
Despite the fact that the festival is held at the end of January, the atmosphere is surprisingly light and warm. Michelin chefs are invited to the event, who are happy to share their knowledge and are always ready to answer any question of the most curious.
Bocuse d'Or
Location: Lyon, France
Date: January
This is not just a festival, it is a prestigious international haute cuisine competition, which has been held every two years since 1987. The best chefs from all over the world take part in this competition. For 1.5 years, 24 people have been selected to participate in the competition in 63 countries around the world. The main task of the Bocuse d’Or participants is to cook one fish and one meat dish in five hours. The winner receives a golden statuette and the title of the best chef of the five continents for 2 years.
Gourmet Abu Dhabi
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Date: February
Perhaps the most interactive festival of all presented. An abundance of master classes of culinary masters, interactive culinary shows, meetings with guest stars, breakfasts, lunches and dinners - all this awaits the guests of the holiday during the two weeks of the festival.
World Gourmet Summit
Location: Singapore
Date: April
The festival has been held annually for 17 years, and was organized by renowned chef, publisher and restaurant critic Peter Knipp. The most famous chefs from all over the world, sommeliers and restaurant business specialists are the participants of this bright event. All those who love haute cuisine will enjoy this festival with real masterpieces of culinary art.
Taste of Chicago
Location: Chicago, USA
Date: July
This is a summer international festival, considered the biggest culinary event in the Midwest. It passes within five days. During this short time, thousands of lovers of delicious food gather in Chicago. Participants of the event are representatives of the restaurant business in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and other cities.
Menton Lemon Festival
Location: Menton, France
Date: late February - early March
Citrus festival, the main characters of which are lemons. Despite the unusual theme, it attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world. All guests of the festival try and evaluate new varieties of lemons, as well as taste drinks and sweets made from the “main king” of the holiday.
Flemish Food Fest
Location: Ghent, Belgium
Date: end of July
This festival is one of the most extraordinary, because it takes the form of a regular picnic. Only the food is not brought to it by the guests themselves, but by the best Flemish chefs. The festival was started by three Belgian chefs. The venue of the holiday is also unusual - in an abandoned warehouse pavilion.
M.A.D.
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Date: end of August
A culinary extravaganza created by Noma chef and owner René Redzepi. The festival lasts for two weeks. The most famous restaurateurs, restaurant critics, professors, artists and many other interesting speakers are the "teachers" at this gourmet feast.
Gastronomy
Location: San Sebastian, Spain
Date: October
In Spain, this festival is held annually, is one of the largest and brings together representatives of international and Basque cuisine. This event was created, first of all, in order to make the gastronomic culture unified for all residents of the province of Gipuzkoa, in which San Sebastian is located. As part of the festival, the chefs of all the most famous local restaurants prepare the best dishes for their guests.
Festa a Vico
Location: Vico Equense, Italy
Date: first weekend of summer
Despite the fact that this festival is quite short and lasts only three days, a lot of interesting events are held within its framework. Guests of the holiday can take part in beach tastings, watch pizza making master classes and see chefs performing on the streets of the city.
Gelinaz!
Location: Worldwide
Date: follow on the official website
A grandiose culinary show organized by the association, which includes more than 20 world-famous chefs. Each year, one single recipe is selected, with which the participating chefs play and experiment. The show usually lasts more than 8 hours, and the number of guests is limited.
Alba International White Truffle Fair
Place: Italy
Date: October
The name of this festival is translated into Russian as "International White Truffle Festival". And this is not surprising, because the main tasting product here is the white truffle. As part of the festival, guests can visit an exhibition of gastronomic and wine products from the Piedmont region and many other city events.
July 17, 2015 3081 0La Tomatina Festival
This is one of the most famous food festivals in the world. It takes place in late August - early September in the Spanish Bunol. For a week, the life of a small town completely obeys the laws of the tomato festival. An average of 35 thousand people come to the festival, but the population of the town itself is 4 times less! It is said that tomato throwing became a symbol of protest against the regime of the dictator Franco, but the story is more plausible that the first tomato throwing in Bunyol took place in 1945, when the city celebrated the day of its patron saint, Saint Bertrand. Tomatina has since been repeatedly banned. But since 1959, every summer, tomato battles in Bunyol have been a regular occurrence. The festival takes place in the city for a week and during this time you can walk around the fair, participate in a paella eating contest and become part of a costumed parade. And on Wednesday, at 11 o'clock in the afternoon, a firecracker is launched from the city hall - a signal to start the battle with tomatoes. The battle lasts exactly one hour. There are no special rules - you can launch a tomato at anyone who is nearby. The most important thing is to comply with the rules of the festival, according to which tomatoes cannot be crushed before throwing, as well as tearing the clothes of another participant.
RoadKill Cook-Off Festival
Gourmets prefer steaks from the meat of rare animals or oysters, and here those who like dishes for animals killed on the roads gather. The festival even hosts competitions in the art of cooking. As a result, guests can taste unique stews made from a raccoon or a possum that died under the wheels of a vehicle. The rules of the annual event state that all participants must come here already with the corpse of an animal killed on the road. You also need to bring a set of necessary utensils and ingredients for cooking. The food is cooked in front of everyone, but it will be judged by a special jury. At the same time, both the appearance of the dish and its taste are taken into account. More recently, the organizers have introduced a new rule. Now the dishes from the dead animals should look as if these creatures were just pulled out from under the wheels of a killer car. The winner of the competition is awarded as much as 300 dollars as a prize. Those who could not come to the festival, but want to taste a dish from an animal that died on the road, can do this in a special institution. So, in the town of Seligman, Arizona, there is a cafe "Road Killers". There you can try the "Dead Deer" steak, grilled ribs called "Raccoon Trap" and even "Chicken that almost crossed the road."
Wild Food Festival
For 22 years now, a permanent festival has been held in the New Zealand town of Hokitika. It is believed that the festival was invented by Claire Briant, a native of New Zealand. Once she treated her friends to an unusual wine made from wild flowers. Thus, the annual culinary weekend was born, dedicated to a variety of rare and unusual dishes of New Zealand cuisine. And on their basis, the festival was born, which increased the number of tourists eight times in a small seaside town. Most of the food looks like sushi. Only "surprises" are hidden inside - slugs, larvae, worms, bull's eyes. Tourists happily eat crispy grasshoppers in a sweet sauce and deep-fried shark meat. But the most famous dish at the festival is smelt pies. These little fish are considered a big treat in New Zealand, and their legal season is very short. If the guests have enough strength for dessert, then you should try ice cream with wasp larvae. To get to this gastronomic feast, you need to pay 30 local dollars, and for another 15 you can get into a night disco.
mango festival
Every year in early July in New Delhi, India, festivities are held dedicated to this fruit. It occupies a special place in the life of the country. The national animal here is the Bengal tiger, the flower is the lotus, and the mango is without a doubt the main fruit in India. According to legend, the Buddha himself once ate it when he was in deep thought. The philosopher ordered to bury the bone of the useful fruit in the place indicated by him. They say that immediately a sprout appeared from the ground, and soon a tree grew, on which fruits appeared in the plural. Since then, mango has become a sacred plant for India. Here it is a symbol of abundance and health. During the year, as many as 9.5 million tons of this fruit are harvested in the country. At the local bazaar, a kilogram of mango costs only half a dollar. Fruit picking reaches its peak in late June - early July. It is at this time that the mango festival takes place in New Delhi. The main guests here are farmers from all over the country. They bring with them new and unusual varieties of fruit that they have bred. You can find here mangoes the size of a chicken egg, and there are those that look like melons. Mango tastings are held at the festival, and you don’t have to pay for such entertainment. There is also a competition here, who will eat fruit faster. As part of the holiday, there is also a women's competition for the best recipe for a dish all from the same mango.
Watermelon Festival Chinchilla Melon
If you love watermelons, then get ready to go to the Australian Chinchilla. The Chinchilla Melon festival is held here every two years. One of its oldest traditions commands all guests to come here in old shoes and clothes. But it's easy to explain. After all, during the days of the festival, all the streets of the town are literally strewn with watermelon pits and peels. So it can be quite difficult to keep balance and not get smeared in sweet juice. The first watermelon festival was held here in 1994. The celebration quickly became a kind of hallmark of the city. He himself is directly related to watermelons - a quarter of the total volume of the country is grown here. No wonder Chinchilla is called the watermelon capital of Australia. There are even a number of competitions for breaking large berries. Watermelons are thrown into the ring, used as shoes, running a race. The most striking event at the festival is the weighing of fruits - the heaviest of them is solemnly declared the watermelon of the year. Well, the most extreme competition is held on breaking hard berries with your head. In 2009, a record was even set, listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Australian John Alwood was able to break 47 watermelons in a minute, which brought him fame.