Transylvania has the potential to compete with Tuscany or Antalya in the field of gastronomic tourism, if the region’s culinary traditions are properly honoured. This is the opinion of British Professor Paul Bloomfield of Oxford Brookes University, Europe’s leading higher education institution in the hospitality industry.
These gastronomic traditions are being honoured by the Historic Cafes Route (HCR), a cultural and historical route under the aegis of the Council of Europe, in partnership with the Alternative Euro East Cultural Association (ACEEA), in a remarkable setting. On the evening of 17 January 2024, from 18.00, the Brukenthal Palace in Avrig will host a real gastronomic show. Thus, those who will attend this event will be able to taste dishes prepared according to recipes preserved in the Transylvanian noble tradition and served in the palace of Baron Samuel von Brukenthal. This is a remarkable Baroque palace both for its architecture, which is a miniature copy of the Imperial Palace Schonbrunn in Vienna, and for the attention to detail with which it has been transformed into an exclusive accommodation space, under the coordination of the HCR Ambassador to Romania, Arnold Klingeis, quoted by Via Cluj TV.
“It is a great honour and pleasure to invite you on the occasion of this year’s Chef’s New Year’s Eve organised as part of the Historic Cafés Route – the Route of Historic Cafés in Europe – under the high patronage of the Council of Europe to showcase historic Romanian culinary traditions from all over the country in a culinary show – in Avrig”, said Ambassador Arnold Klingeis, according to ClujToday.ro.
The chefs present in Avrig offer a series of dishes that capture the culinary spirit of the Baroque. The whole day the preparation of the dishes and the decoration of the hall will be the main concern of the representatives of the Cultural Association Euro Est Alternativ: the details will have the mission to reveal to those present the baroque spirit of the cuisine through the dishes, but also through the festive hall of the Brukenthal Palace in Avrig.
In order to respect the theme of the gastronomic royalty, which is to include defining, historical elements of Romanian cuisine, the evening’s specialties will include stuffed duck, crayfish pâté with unsalted butter, quail egg yolk and quince chutney, smoked fish batog, pike roe trilogy, trout, trout, black butter with green onions, chickpea carpaccio, crispy green chives, microplant shoots, crispy tusk, truffle and parsley flavoured oil, horseradish mousse and leek flakes, foie gras, turkey quenelle, trout fillets and salmon trout with chickpea mousse and pea emulsion, pheasant consomme with meat stuffed chanterelles, mutton roulade with mummies, baked pumpkin, red carrot, white onion sauce, specialities à la proțap and many other culinary surprises that will delight your taste buds and eyes with their design and artistic interpretation.
The event is organised with the involvement of ACEEA. It is one of the most important professional gastronomy associations in Romania. The team includes specialists from Bucharest, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Iași, Suceava, Arad, Pitești, Constanța, Brașov, Maramureș, Făgăraș, Oradea, Târgu-Mureș, as well as members from abroad, from gastronomy centres such as Milan, Rimini, Berna, Belgrad, Lvov, London, Berlin, Barcelona, Dijon, Jerusalem, Dortmund, Stockholm or Helsinki. ACEEA is also a member of the World Association of Chefs Societies (W.A.C.S.) and the Asociación de Restauradores Gastronómicos de las Américas y el Mundo (AREGALA), the Federation of Romanian Tourism Employers and the Tourism Sector Committee and officially represents Romania at competitions, congresses and meetings worldwide.
Since 2007, the Euro Est Alternativ Cultural Association has been organizing events with the participation of specialists from the gastronomic sector in order to fill the gap in the representation of the authentic traditional Romanian culinary art worldwide. “Whether we like it or not, cuisine, generically speaking, occupies an extremely important space in the life of each of us. Elevating cooking from a ‘marital obligation’ to an ‘art’ requires changing an entrenched mentality,” adds Arnold Klingeis.
“Diversity plays an important role in interaction, in intercultural and inter-professional dialogue; the desire of many to standardise peoples, to reject their individuality and therefore their customs, will lead to a dull, simple and monotonous existence. We are different in every way, and this is the beauty of mankind, which is why we aim to provide an overview of as many civilisations and traditions of the peoples of the Earth as possible, with a focus on local gastronomic culture”, says Dr Iulia Draguț, President of ACEEA.
ACEEA is the promoter of culinary competitions in Romania and since 2007 has organised several annual national and international culinary events.
The Historic Cafes Route offers visitors the opportunity to embark on an enchanting thematic itinerary, take a step back in time, enjoy the luxury of golden cafes, learn about the important role they played in the past and continue to shape Europe’s cultural history today.
“The nature of the members of the Historic Cafes Route, which means cafes, restaurants and hotels, provides the cultural route with the necessary infrastructure to design together with our members tourism products that make it possible to interconnect with the other 47 Cultural Routes promoted by the Council of Europe, the cultural essence of the old continent, the cultural routes that have been considered by the member states of the Council of Europe to best represent the history, evolution and heritage of Europe.
Please accept our invitation to celebrate together, in Avrig, an important step for the programme to promote the Romanian historical culinary traditions within the Cultural Routes, opening a new horizon for our common European heritage and history to be offered as a culinary and tourist experience to domestic, European and international tourists, a cultural, historical, culinary and coffee-flavoured experience within the Historic Cafes Route”, says Arnold Klingeis.
The historic menu offered during the event at the Brukenthal Palace is 50% subsidised by sponsors and partners and costs only 200 RON / person with a selection of drinks included.
Reservations can be made by phone on 0726 – 234417 or by email at rezervari@palatulbrukenthalavrig.ro.
