The „Roaring Twenties“ are arriving, there will be singing and eating, dining in the „Belly of Cologne“ or in the park by a picturesque pond – and these are just a few keywords describing the events of the Fine Food Days Cologne. Cologne's big gourmet festival is entering its seventh edition and begins on Sunday, August 30th, with the grand (and almost sold-out) opening party „Meet & Taste“ on the grounds of the Kartäuserkirche.
Time and pleasure trips await guests during the 14 festival days. The Excelsior Hotel Ernst whisks you away to the Roaring Twenties with live jazz, swing, and Charleston music. As dressing up is common in Cologne, it shouldn't be difficult for pleasure-seekers to comply with the organiser's request: „Dress code in the style of the Roaring Twenties is expressly desired.“
Singing is a trend at the Fine Food Days Cologne this year: The Grüngürtelrosen, long since more than an insider tip in Cologne's cultural scene, are turning Schloss Arff into.
At the Wolkenburg, a sing-along is on the programme: to mark its 150th anniversary, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger invites you to a musical and culinary journey through 150 years of Cologne’s history with the Cologne-based group „De Kallendresser“. The evening combines historical and modern songs with a fine selection of traditional Cologne fare. Everyone is encouraged to join in.
Eating where you normally wouldn't: Volker Beuchert, Culinary Director of Kirberg Catering, serves up dishes right in the halls of Möllers. The wholesale food supplier provides the top gastronomy sector with everything they need for their culinary delights. And is, so to speak, the „Belly of Cologne“. An unusual event, as if right in the middle of a market.
And another new feature: for the first time this year, there will be „Blind Taste“. Culinary lucky.
„Secret“ is also still the venue for the Night of Legends, which will be hosted by star chef Marlon Rademacher and gastronomy legend Ernst Vleer with culinary legend Dieter Müller.
This year's culinary festival is entering its seventh edition and offers more than 30 gourmet events. A total of 19 catering businesses have joined the Fine Food Days Cologne association. This association aims to make the culinary excellence of Cologne and its region better known.
And the association continues to grow: New members include „The Dutch“ from Junkersdorf with head chef Joschua Tepner, who will be boarding the KD ship „MS RheinDiamond“ and will be combining Dutch sophistication with Kölscher zest for life. TV chef and new Rhenish resident Nelson Müller has also joined the Fine Food Days Cologne. Just over a year ago, he took over the Diepeschrather Mühle in Bergisch Gladbach and is hosting Julia Komp and the Sahila crew there, with whom he will be creating a special evening. „We go into the forest to find our soul. Or into the kitchen.“ And so there will be culinary delights at various stations in the nature surrounding the Diepeschrather Mühle. It's about experiencing, sharing, and toasting together: „Sharing is caring,“ says Julia Komp.
„The fact that the association continues to grow clearly shows how important joint marketing initiatives are in the gastronomy sector,“ says Franz Gruber (Gruber's Restaurant), a board member of Fine Food Days Cologne (FFDC). The alliance of restaurants originated from an initiative by Michael Stern, who died in May after a serious illness. „The festival will be continued in his memory and in his spirit,“ says FFDC board member Jürgen Blank (Excelsior Hotel Ernst).
All events can be found under the menu heading „Events“or in Programme