From November 9 to 15, Saint-Barth welcomes the thirteenth edition of the Gourmet Festival. For one week, chefs, restaurants and local producers come together around a shared love of good food, between exceptional dinners, creative encounters and a new village open to everyone.<o:p></o:p>

A DECADE OF FLAVOURS <o:p></o:p>
Somewhere between Gustavia and Saline, a chef who usually cooks in Paris or Bogotá has put down their bags for the week.<o:p></o:p>
It all begins in 2013, with a pilot edition. The following year, it has a name, the Taste of St Barth Gourmet Festival, seven guest chefs and a New York godfather, Jean-Georges Vongerichten.<o:p></o:p>
The idea, born at the Comité Territorial du Tourisme, is very simple: rather than create a festival somewhere, borrow the island’s kitchens, invite a great chef, hand them an apron in someone else’s restaurant, and let them work with the brigade that cooks there all year round. <o:p></o:p>Pierre Gagnaire comes, then Christian Le Squer, Nicolas Sale, Arnaud Faye. <o:p></o:p>The “Taste of” fades away and the festival simply becomes the Saint-Barth Gourmet Festival. <o:p></o:p>Edition after edition, it settles into the Caribbean calendar, when summer is long gone and the island fills up again.<o:p></o:p>
What makes it so special is the way it is built: no central stage and, above all, no single address. It moves between hotels, beach clubs and restaurants.<o:p></o:p>
Lunches and dinners are written for four hands, sometimes more. One brings the memory of somewhere else, the other brings the island, and the plate lands somewhere in between. Chefs, pastry chefs and local teams all take part, as do the producers and the young people of the island, who now have their own place in the programme.<o:p></o:p>
For this 13th edition, from November 9 to 15, fourteen guest chefs and pastry chefs, from mainland France and South America, are spread across twelve of the island’s tables.<o:p></o:p>
For Alexandra Questel, president of the Comité Territorial du Tourisme, the aim is to celebrate “gastronomy as a true expression of our island’s art de vivre.”<o:p></o:p>
In more than a decade, the recipe has not changed, and the dishes have never tasted better.<o:p></o:p>

A MEETING OF CULINARY<o:p></o:p>
At Le Barthélemy Hôtel &amp; Spa, Jean-Philippe Blondet meets Guillaume Gillan again. Both were born in Nice, both learned under Alain Ducasse, and their four-hand dinners feel like a reunion.<o:p></o:p>
At Nikki Beach, Amaury Bouhours, executive chef of Le Meurice, of whom Alain Ducasse says that he “embodies the young generation and the new stage of the cuisine of the essential,” leaves the gilding of the Parisian palace behind for the lunches of Antoine Durand, who likes to play with local flavors, especially when it comes to preparing a fish tataki and a nice fresh ceviche.<o:p></o:p>
Claire Heitzler has chosen teatime: her seasonal and lightly sweetened pastry makes its way into Paul Bertheau’s kitchen, at Christopher.<o:p></o:p>
Then there is Cheval Blanc, where David Toutain, two stars, cooks with Anthony Suivant. The former is very plant-based, while the latter serves local fish following his Martinican father’s recipe, with a cassava sauce.<o:p></o:p>
Nicolas Masse arrives from Pessac-Léognan with his vegetable garden and his two stars, and Jean-Claude Dufour welcomes him into his garden in Saline, at L’Esprit.<o:p></o:p>
Cyril Lignac, for his part, is at home. Bar des Prés has its address in Gustavia, and he is the one signing the dinners.<o:p></o:p>
Thibault Sombardier leaves the Place des Vosges for Anse des Cayes and joins Misel Bayrakcioglu at Manapany, somewhere between French classics and Caribbean spices.<o:p></o:p>
This year, Latin America is also part of the story. At Grain de Sel, Quentin Boiron, 27, shares a lunch with Álvaro Clavijo, whose restaurant El Chato took the top spot in Latin America’s 50 Best in 2025.<o:p></o:p>
Meanwhile, at Fouquet’s, Esteban Salazar, born in the Colombian Andes, signs a series of lunches combining his Latin roots and his French technique.<o:p></o:p>
Tabata and Ludovic Mey, who come from Lyon, sign the dinners in Thomas Lézé’s kitchen, at Fish Corner. Originally hired as a dishwasher, he now runs the kitchen and cooks the local catch.<o:p></o:p>
Yoni Saada, the chef behind Bagnard, joins Leo Abdelli and his Kabyle mechouia, at La Cantina. For both of them, cooking is something to be shared.<o:p></o:p>
Finally, at Bagatelle, there will be four in the kitchen: Pierre and Cristina Chomet, of Ambos in Paris, with Rocco Seminara and Manon Santini.<o:p></o:p>
In the end, it all comes down to collaboration. It is the bond formed between these chefs that gives rise to unique dishes and new flavors, and that is what makes the festival so special.<o:p></o:p>

THE VILLAGE, A TABLE FOR ALL<o:p></o:p>
Tuesday, November 10, 7 p.m. <o:p></o:p>
The night falls over Gustavia and the lights come on along the Quai Rockefeller.<o:p></o:p>
There is something new in the air: the festival is leaving the kitchens and coming down to the quay. This is the big novelty of this edition: the Village Gastronomique.<o:p></o:p>
Here, you come as you are, in linen and sandals: everyone is invited. <o:p></o:p>You move from stand to stand, a bite in one hand, a glass in the other. <o:p></o:p>
Participating establishments and private chefs sign their creations in bite-sized form while producers, artisans and winemakers are there too, with their know-how. <o:p></o:p>If the chefs have the plates, La Cave du Port Franc has the bottles, and nearly 40 years of experience to go with them.<o:p></o:p>
And then, the island has its place at the party too: bartenders face off at the shaker for the title of Best Bartender, and café waiters race with a tray full of glasses. <o:p></o:p>The music never stops, with concerts all evening long.<o:p></o:p>
For one evening, the festival leaves the white tablecloths to the restaurants and sets up on the quay, where everyone can be.<o:p></o:p>

Gourmet Festival: A Taste of Saint-Barth

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