"This city is a unique way of life. It makes wine and culture resonate", proudly launched the mayor of Dijon, François Rebsamen, while cutting the inaugural ribbon of the CIGV, in the grounds of a magnificently ancient medieval hospital. restored.

"It's dazzling. It's a marriage between gastronomy, wine, culture, pedagogy ...", marveled the former president François Hollande, visiting the 6.5 hectare site.

"It's not unique in France. It's unique in the world", added Mr. Hollande, behind the decision, in 2013, to create "Cities of Gastronomy" in order to "understand" what makes the "French gastronomic meal", as added by Unesco to the intangible cultural heritage, in 2010.

Four cities were then selected, each with a theme: Lyon ("food and health"), Paris-Rungis ("sustainable food and responsible gastronomy"), Tours ("human and social sciences") and Dijon, for the "culture of the vine and wine".

"Dijon had solid and liquid arguments," joked Mr Hollande.

The capital of Burgundy is indeed the starting point of the prestigious "Route des Grands Crus", which is one of the greatest wines in the world, and whose "climats" (plots of vines) are also classified by Unesco. .

Dijon has also recently been chosen, to the detriment of Bordeaux and Reims, to host the International Organization of Vine and Wine, equivalent to a wine UN.

But it was necessary to find a setting for the CIGV: it will be the former Hospital of the Holy Spirit, an architectural jewel with glazed tiles founded in 1204. Rehabilitated, it has been completed with daring contemporary buildings.

The new International City of Gastronomy and Wine, May 5, 2022 in Dijon (France) JEFF PACHOUD AFP

“We wanted to highlight the existing heritage while providing it with grafts of contemporary architecture”, explains the architect Anthony Béchu, renowned for having resurrected the Hôtel-Dieu in Marseille.

Located between town and vineyards, the site is both "at kilometer zero of the Route des Grands Crus and at the gates of the historic center of Dijon", the second largest protected area in France, underlines Jérémie Penquer, director of the promotion of great projects in Dijon.

- 3000 wine references -

Thanks to 250 million euros of work, 90% financed by the private sector, it is on this vast space that the menu tells the story of the French gastronomic meal.

It is explained, first, through four exhibitions: on history;

on pastry;

on Burgundy vineyards and the art of cooking.

More than 3,000 wine references available at the new International City of Gastronomy and Wine, in Dijon JEFF PACHOUD AFP

Then we taste it, in two restaurants managed by Eric Pras, a three-starred Burgundian chef, and a cellar that offers 250 wines by the glass from more than 3,000 references.

Added to all this is a gastronomic village with nine shops (butcher, grocer, bakery...);

an "experiential kitchen" featuring chef demonstrations and workshops;

a wine school;

a branch of the Ferrandi cooking and pastry school, a veritable Parisian institution, etc.

The size of this temple of good eating could make people fear indigestion, especially since the CIGV expects one million visitors per year, for a metropolis of 260,000 inhabitants, and that another gastronomic city, that of Lyon, had to close in 2020 because it had not reached its target of 300,000 annual admissions (a redesigned project should see the light of day in 2023).

The other gastronomic cities have also experienced shortcomings: that of Tours is barely starting after many twists and that of Paris-Rungis is postponed to 2026.

A butcher's shop in the International City of Gastronomy and Wine, May 5, 2022 in Dijon JEFF PACHOUD AFP

"We do not have delusions of grandeur," defended Mr. Rebsamen.

"One million visitors is a completely achievable goal. Dijon had 3.5 million visitors before the Covid," he told AFP.

"We learned the lesson of the failure of Lyon which offered something a little low-end and very expensive".

"Dijon, it includes a whole free cultural and heritage part. It's popular," he recalled.

"In Dijon, demonstration is made that gastronomy is not only for a few", added Mr. Holland.

© 2022 AFP