Prize Winners Fêted at French Food Spirit Award Ceremony

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Prize Winners Fêted at French Food Spirit Award Ceremony
An assembly of some 300 persons, including ambassadors, diplomats and members of Parliament, chairmen and presidents of food industry groups, chefs, and reporters, recently gathered in the dazzling salons of the Palace of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Paris to hear the announcement of this year’s prize winners of the French Food Spirit Award. Organized in 2003 to promote international awareness of the products and proficiency of the French food industry, the association French Food Spirit awards four prizes to those persons who have made a significant contribution to the promotion of French cuisine. This year, prizes were awarded in four categories: Culture, Science, Entrepreneurship and Special Dairy Products. An international jury of twelve, professionals in their respective fields (but only one of whom is a specialist in gastronomy) selected the prize winners from a field of twenty nominees. Three Americans, including Jim Bitterman, journalist, William Christie, orchestra conductor, and Stanley Prusiner, research scientist, participated in this year’s jury. Jean-Pierre d’Estienne d’Orves, General Secretary of the French Food Spirit Awards, co-chaired the ceremony with travel writer and film producer Sonia Poussin. Michel Barnier, French Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Jean-René Buisson, President of the French Food and Drink Federation and Jean-Gabriel Rangeon, partner of Mazars, an international consultancy firm, gave congratulatory speeches. The winner of the Culture award is Sarah Wiener, an Austrian and a producer of a series of televised culinary programs. She was fêted for the program “Tour de France Culinaire”, which aired on the Franco-German network Arte from 2006 to 2008. She is about to launch another culinary series that will feature French and German adolescents learning how to choose the proper ingredients to make meals. Wiener, a self-taught chef, is owner of three restaurants in Berlin. Hiroshi Yamamoto is the winner of the Science award. A Japanese jurist with a passion for French wine, he defended the interests of French winemakers in protecting their appellations, or designations, in the Japanese market. He is especially credited with the protection of the Champagne and Chablis denominations. He is president of the Japanese Association of Wine Importers and has written numerous books on the subject of wine (in Japanese). For the Entrepreneurial award, Pascal Brodnici took the prize. Born in France of a Polish father and a French mother, he now lives in Poland where he directs the television show “Pascal: Po prostu gotuj!” (Pascal, Simply Cooking). He has published two cookbooks (in Polish). He received his culinary training in France and worked in a number of prestigious restaurants, notably at the Bristol Hotel and the Sheraton. Internationally renowned French chef Joël Robuchon won the Special Dairy Products prize. With restaurants in Paris, Macao, New York, London, Monaco, Las Vegas, Tokyo and Hong Kong, he is truly a superstar in the culinary world. He has received numerous awards, including “Chef of the Century” by Gault et Millau in 1990. This year, the Michelin Guide awarded his restaurants a total of eighteen stars. The spirit of France and French cuisine was well celebrated on this august occasion. The French are proud of their culinary tradition and want the world to know about it! Tom Reeves is president of Discover Paris!, a travel planning service. Francophiles will be delighted to find his book, Paris Insights – An Anthology in their stockings this Christmas! Order early for holiday delivery: www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/221723.
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