Food agenda: International Edible Book Festival

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The highlight of this week's food agenda is the Edible Book Festival, held every April Fool's Day. Since 2000, book lovers and foodies around the world have, quite literally, been eating their words. Created in homage to French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin who wrote Physiologie du gout, a witty meditation on food and taste, participants are invited to fashion a book out of food and eat their words.

Celebrity Chef Tour, James Beard Foundation
USA
All year

A rare opportunity for guests to mingle with the celebrity chef who prepares their meal, the Celebrity Chef Tour brings the culinary glitterati to venues in New York, Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia etc. On March 28, Yankee Stadium turns into a giant kitchen with chefs Mike Isabella, Jennifer Carroll, Gavin Kaysen, Steve Evetts, Noah Carroll, and host chef Kevin Harry.
www.celebritycheftour.com/index.html

Food Forum India 2011
March 28-29
Mumbai, India

The largest event of its kind in India, the two-day event focuses on the growing interest in convenience foods and variety among Indian consumers. The forum will also discuss innovation in food production, waste reduction, hygiene and safety, food design, technology and food retail, and cap off with the Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Awards for excellence in food retailing and services.
www.foodforumindia.com/

4th Annual Philippine International Food and Beverage Expo
March 31 - April 2
Manila, Philippines

Though a relatively young expo, PIFBEX 2011 says they expect 20,000 trade visitors to walk through their doors this year and 300 local and international exhibitors. The Philippines is emerging as a rapidly growing food and drinks industry in Asia. Food processing alone accounts for more than 40 percent of all manufacturing enterprises in the country.
www.pifbex.com

April Food Day
April 1
Online

April Food Day began last year and united over 200 bloggers to write and post information on April Food Day to fight hunger in America. April 1 is not just about pranks, but also hunger awareness campaigns and donating to charities that work to alleviate hunger in their communities. Given the nature of the campaign, bloggers all over the world can participate by uploading the April Food Day button on their blogs, posting more information and find ways to help their communities combat hunger. http://aprilfoodday.blogspot.com/

The International Edible Book Festival
April 1
worldwide

International Edible Book Day has been held every year since 2000 on or around April 1, coinciding with April Fools' Day. Creators Judith A. Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron invite people from all over the word to submit edible creations in the shape of books or in any way "bookish." Groups from Australia, Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Russia, and Hong Kong have taken part in the event, holding small events at which they display their edible creations, take pictures, and submit them to the Edible Book Day website. All are welcome to participate.
www.books2eat.com

Nominations for 2nd Annual Best Food Blog Awards, Saveur Magazine
April 5
Online

Saveur, an international gourmet food, wine and travel magazine, hosts their second annual Best Food Blogs awards. Nominations open April 5 in nine "Best" categories, including baking and desserts, wine, food photography, regional cuisine, special interest, culinary travel, individual post, innovative video content, and kitchen tools and hardware coverage. Last year's winner for Best Baking and Dessert blog was David Lebovitz, an American blogger in Paris. Cast your vote at www.saveur.com/2011-best-food-blog-awards.jsp

Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux-Grand Primeurs
April 4-8
Various châteaux, Bordeaux, France

En Primeur, also known as wine futures, is an annual event where the trade (wine investors and the press) comes together to taste the previous year's vintage while still in barrels to determine the wine rating, investment potential and price. Wines are tasted up to 18 months before bottled and the press generated from this highly anticipated event can set the tone for the wine market. April 4-8 is a seated tasting for specialized wine journalists and April 5-7 is a standing-room tasting for the general press and distributors.
www.ugcb.net

3nd Annual Wine & Gourmet JAPAN - CANCELLED
April 6-8
Tokyo, Japan

Due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, what would have been the event's third annual wine event has been cancelled. Organizers say they are currently looking for another venue and date and a decision will be posted within the next six to eight weeks. Though last year only marked the event's second year, the Wine & Gourmet expo hosted almost 63,500 participants last year, with representatives in the wine, spirits, fine food, confectionary, catering and equipment industries.
www.wineandgourmetjapan.com/

45th Annual Vinitaly
April 7-11
Veronafiere Fairground
Verona, Italy

Vinitaly is the largest five-day event devoted to international wines and spirits, winemaking and wine business. Each day offers a series of technical tastings, food & wine pairings, haute cuisine and much more with 4200 exhibitors ranging from Champagne to Grappa. Over 153,000 participants including producers, importers, distributors, caterers, technicians, journalists and opinion leaders come together to celebrate wine and food with Taste of Italy, an opportunity to experience Italian products from cereals to truffles and the world of olive oil; the annual International Wine Competition and various business workshops. Daily tickets are 45 euros.
www.vinitaly.com/visitatori_en.asp

World Whiskies Conference
April 12-13
Glasgow, Scotland

A trade event that brings together whisky producers of the world, the conference is billed as a networking event among industry leaders. This year's event will forecast the next five years in the whisky business, effective marketing techniques, and the role of social media in scotch branding.
www.whiskyconference.com/

Slow Food Market or Markt Des Guten Geschmacks
April 14-17
Stuttgart, Germany

Slow Food Germany's exhibition of good, clean and fair food is held in Stuttgart for four days each April, bringing together artisan producers and traders from across Germany as well as from Austria and Italy. The marketplace is the central attraction of the event, which also presents a series of workshops, discussions, excursions and dinners.
http://www.messe-stuttgart.de/cms/slowfood11_besucher_messe0.0.html

Wine China Exhibition
April 17-19
National Agriculture Exhibition Center, Beijing, China

Wine China Exhibition is the 2011 China International Wine & Spirits event that will focus this year on channel developing, brand building and sharing cultures. Beijing will host importers, wholesalers, dealers, agents and consumers from all over the world to expand brand promotion and education within China's rapid growing wine market. Exhibitors from wine producing countries range from Algeria to Paraguay.
www.winechinaexhibition.com/en/index.html