The glacier village Saas-Fee is
staging the Nostalgic Culinary Mile for the fourth time on 13 September
2009. From noon until 6 p.m. the main street in Saas-Fee will be
transformed with the appearance of one long, inviting dining table where
guests can celebrate and feast in style. You will have the pleasure of
tasting numerous traditional culinary specialities from the Valais
region, many of which have been virtually forgotten over the years.
These delights will be on offer together with some good Valais wine at
the many stands along the main street.
The restaurateurs and hoteliers
will be serving in the costumes and in the spirit of the good old days.
You are surrounded by "smugglers", "mountaineers of the old school", "English noblemen from the 19th century", "genteel ladies" or "farmers' wives in the typical dress of the Valais region".
And even the pioneer of tourism, the priest Johann Josef Imseng, will
be commemorated as some people dress up in the clothes of 19th century
priests. One of the many highlights of the day is definitely the
prize-giving ceremony for the most original nostalgic costume.
Throughout the day, a jury specially selected for this task will be
looking for the most beautiful and unusual outfit.
The event which was planned to be a one-off affair to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Saas-Fee hotel business in 2006 has now become a permanent fixture on the village's calendar of events. The very first of these events three years ago was so successful for the organisers from the Saas-Fee Hoteliers' Association and enjoyed such positive feedback that it was decided without further ado to hold it on an annual basis. The Gourmet Mile has developed into a real crowd puller appealing to people of all ages, and the decision to stage this special event every year has definitely proved to be the right one.
This year the Nostalgic Gourmet Mile will be raising money for the "Tanja" Foundation in the village of Bitsch, which supports severely mentally and physically handicapped adults.
