To le Manoir drawn

Prepare for a culinary invasion that could change the way you cook forever. In recognition of how far American cuisine has advanced in recent decades, Raymond Blanc, chef-patron at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, is holding an American Food Revolution festival next month. He has invited nine of the most celebrated US chefs to cook and debate hefty issues such as how politics, economics, culture and farming methods are affecting world cuisine.

The Americans will be joined on the platform by UK chefs such as Heston Blumenthal, Michel Roux and Michael Caines, a French contingent including Olivier Roellinger and Marc Meneau, as well as experts from the Soil Association, the Culinary Institute of America and many more.

Although Blanc's belief in his native French cuisine never wavers (he points out, for instance, that "the continued importance of France is demonstrated by the fact that no fewer than six of the US chefs are members of Relais & ChÆ'teaux"), he reckons there's a lot to be learned from the Americans.

For the past 25 years, he observes, American chefs - mainly in California - have been using local American ingredients in an exciting way. Having first explored French regional cookery, they are now, in effect, treating their own part of the country as a culinary region, using their own fish and shellfish, and local fruits and vegetables.

Supply chain
What he particularly admires is that these American chefs have tuned in with what their customers really want, and - even more importantly - that they have got to the root of the supply problem. "They see that in order to get the quality of produce they want, they have had to create a supply chain, starting at the beginning, with seeds, and plant varieties," Blanc says. "In many ways they've achieved what lots of us are trying to do here - but they're quite a bit ahead of us."

The supply chain is one of Blanc's main concerns. He lists the food scandals in the UK - BSE, salmonella, E coli and foot-and-mouth disease - which he dubs the true price of cheap food, and says he wants to see better food regulations and provision for proper labelling. His aim at the festival is to air ideas that will show chefs how they could do more to improve farming methods by, for example, insisting the produce they buy is the best variety, grown from the best plants and seeds and, where possible, grown locally.

"I hope the festival will inspire chefs to take a larger part in the changes that are sweeping the food world, to think a little more about how the food we prepare is produced in the first place, and to realise that gastronomy is rooted in the soil. I hope that one of the results will be to make us here in Britain think about the link between food and culture," Blanc says.

The Americans, of course, have 10 climate zones, in which almost anything can be grown. Thus by clinging on to their regional food traditions - think Maine lobsters, Chesapeake Bay oysters and blue crabs, Kentucky and Virginia hams, Meyer lemons and heirloom tomatoes - they automatically have a rich cuisine.

Nevertheless, Blanc maintains that France still has the edge. He explains that despite the difficulties and even disappearance of some small producers, France still has not only the best produce, but the most diverse varieties - and about a third of it is still grown in the traditional way. He adds that in France chefs assist in the government initiative to retain France's food culture by teaching schoolchildren about it - the Semaine du Go-t.

"The basis of French gastronomy flourishes in harmony with conventional farming - remember France is the second-largest exporter of food after the USA," Blanc says.

Damaging legislation
It's clear that Blanc has high hopes of the festival. One war he hopes to wage is against damaging government legislation. His recent travels across France showed him that while chefs take pains to source the best, freshest and most suitable produce, their creativity is often fettered by regulation (such as the 39-hour week, soon to become 35) and government interference. He appreciates that the present French government has started to take action by looking at reducing VAT to 5.5%, and earmarking g1.5b for subsidies to the industry, but it's a subject he wants to discuss further. To this end he has invited French industry and government representatives to participate in some of the debates.

But the festival isn't solely devoted to such weighty matters. Blanc also wants to celebrate the talents of the US guest chefs, farmers and winemakers. So, besides the talking, there will be lunches and dinners cooked by some of the US guest chefs.

"America is not renowned for its cuisine or for its position on sustainable agriculture - 80% of American food is of poor quality," Blanc says. "But remember the scale of what we're talking about - there is a vast amount of serious cooking going on in that huge country. It is not a country like France with a strong national food culture, but regionally it is trying to become like France, and on a bigger scale."

So is the underlying reason for the festival a fear that the supremacy of French cuisine is threatened? "Of course the position of the leaders in any endeavour is always under threat," he answers. "Obviously, in the past 10 years, eating habits have changed in France as they have everywhere else, and globalisation is as evident in Paris as it is in London. France will no doubt pay careful attention to what is happening in London and New York."

Blanc admits his recent travels in France have been an eye-opener. Now that he fully understands the challenges the industry is experiencing there, he is more determined than ever to find the best way forward for culinary excellence.

"Perhaps we're doing something about it with this festival," Blanc says. "After all, here the French will be talking to the best American chefs, and seeing something of what they're doing in their own kitchens. And remember - it's happening here - in Britain."