Events
Festival de la Gastronomie 2023 drew more than 8,800 visitors to its Marigot village
The third Festival de la Gastronomie, organised by the Saint-Martin Tourist Office from 11 to 22 November 2023, drew more than 8,800 visitors to its village on the Marigot waterfront over three days and about 4,000 people to its barbecue competition, Faxinfo reported.
By SXM Daily ·
Reported 22 November 2023.
The third Festival de la Gastronomie, organised by the Office de Tourisme de Saint-Martin, closed on Wednesday 22 November 2023 after 12 days of culinary events, Faxinfo reported.
Illustrative: Marigot Bay. Photo: Richie Diesterheft / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Crowds in Marigot
According to Faxinfo, the festival's village on the Marigot waterfront drew 2,200 people on its first day, 3,680 on the second and 2,967 on the third, more than 8,800 in total. About 4,000 people gathered in central Marigot for the barbecue competition on 16 November, and the crowds caused traffic jams in the capital.
The programme included the barbecue and mixology competitions, food trucks, four-hands dinners, cooking demonstrations and workshops, and activities with students from the Daniella Jeffry vocational high school, Faxinfo reported. Two-Michelin-star chef Patrick Jeffroy was the edition's patron.
Best Table contest
On 21 November, 14 chef judges held a blind tasting in which the four finalists in each category competed for the title of Meilleure Table de Saint-Martin 2023-2024. Faxinfo listed Coco Beach, Le P'tit Bistrot, Chez Ginette and Del Arti at the top of the Beach, City, Authentic and Gourmet categories respectively.
To draw a bigger crowd, the Tourist Office cut the price of the closing-night ticket from €120 to €50, according to Faxinfo.
For later editions, see Festival de la Gastronomie returns for its 6th edition.