This week until Oct. 19 is a national event in France -- La Semaine du Goût (or Tasting Week). Started 18 years ago, it is a week-long effort to help school children cultivate their taste buds by educating them about food. Right now all over the country, an army of professional chefs has been dispatched to classrooms to conduct hands-on workshops on this year's theme -- the construction of taste through the process of learning how to cook. And for the adults?
A few hundred restaurants around France, from simple bistros to temples of haute cuisine, are offering specially priced and designed tasting menus. Consult the website for a full list of participating restaurants. And you can also find dessert recipes (in French) from participating chefs here.
More information about La Semaine du Goût
- Kristin Hohenadel blogging from Paris. She can be reached at kristin @ apartmenttherapy . com
TW Salt Mill by Wil...

This is such a fantastic idea.
oh I love the French!
...just imagine if...?
Macarons!!
..Of course, France is the country where contestants compete to win the honour of throwing the best dinner party... Tonight it is the turn of a retired 68 year old parachutist, and the other contestants are tearing into his menu composition...
http://www.m6.fr/html/emissions/dinerpresqueparfait/
I think this is an amazing idea! I have served as a Room Mom several times at my children's school and with Halloween approaching, many class parties will be focused on bringing in sweet gooey treats. The district has been encouraging no food parties, for health reasons, as well as making the parties have an educational component (math games, art, physical education games). I think it would be just as good to have a party that educated the kids about local foods and how to prepare them (cooking as science!).