Eat & Lose Weight!

This is the motto of the Go?t de France International Festival that has been held at Astrakhan State University.

This event gathers over 2, 000 chefs on five continents every year. Each participating restaurant offers dinner that includes meals of the French cuisine; guests can learn about its main values (hospitality, pleasure, the right nutrition, friendship with ecology, and a tendency to constantly develop something new). According to the terms and conditions of the Festival, special attention is paid to healthy food, with a minimal consumption of fat, sugar, and salt.

Vladimir Palatkin, the project chef, made his cooking dreams come true at ASU. He is currently covering the first year of the master program “Functional Nutrition” at the Biological Department of our University; he also gained much experience at various catering facilities and events, including cooking master classes in Montpellier, France. “This is my first experience in organization of such a cooking holiday. I hope all’s really OK”, he said.

The French speech, favorite French music, admirable meals, professional concert numbers, and courteous waiters – all these things aroused positive emotions and contributed to a romantic mood. The rout arranged by students of ASU was pleasant not just for those who highly appreciate elegance and style, but also for all those who watched at least a tiny part of this event.

Once they felt the French culture, our students fell in love with this country and decided to arrange a real holiday of cooking. Students of our Department of Pedagogics, Social Work, and Physical Training, as well as their peers from our Biological Department, met the set goal splendidly. Any guest could try dishes of the French cuisine and learn the history of the cooking masterpieces in a natural holiday atmosphere.

During two hours, the guests could try the aperitifs, the canapés, the main course, and several variants of the dessert – those were not just excellent French dishes, they shall never make one’s waist fatter!

By the way, our students managed to find sponsors for this project, so they remitted a part of the received funds to the Red Sails Association of Parents of Autistic Kids, as well as to the Oncologic Patients’ Support Fund “I Am with You!”

One should remark the uniform of waiters and the chef was sewn by students of our Department of Pedagogics, Social Work, and Physical Training at the sewing workshop of ASU. The costumes followed the style of Provence: combinations of the white, green, lavender, and grey colors became a bright feature of the French-style party.