Gaston Gérard was Mayor of Dijon from 1919 to 1935. In the early 1920s, Gérard launched the Dijon Gastronomy Fair. He considered gastronomy to be a part of the arts. This was not a revolutionary idea, but to actively make it a part of the city’s image transformation was extremely innovative, making Gérad a pioneer in the field. Today, the concept that Dijon’s image should be built around its gastronomy is still alive. Gastronomy is still considered to be a part of local heritage, echoed by the recent addition of the ‘gastronomic meal of the French’ to UNESCO’s Intangible World Heritage List. The International City of Gastronomy, due to open in Dijon in 2016, is a huge project which combines urban regeneration with economic development. The City will be situated in the old general hospital, and will be a cultural and educative hub, with schools, conference centres, markets, wineries and an eco-quarter. This urban, cultural and economic project is also tied in with the ‘Burgandy Climate’ candidacy to the World Heritage List. Read an abridged translation of the article here: Dijon City of Arts and Capital of Gastronomy. You can find out more about the International City of Gastronomy project here.
