It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all to the French Residence and present to you the 5th edition of operation Good France which will be celebrated in Nepal.

As you all know, the French gastronomy has been listed as the UNESCO's intangible heritage and here in Nepal, the excellence of French gastronomy is being celebrated by Nepali restaurants since 2016 which is a testament of high quality local talent, management and products.

This event was initiated in 2015 by the then French minister for foreign affairs, Laurent Fabius, whose objective was to create an event that would celebrate one of the greatest French heritage (the French gastronomy) and each year, it has seen a significant increase in the number of participating countries and restaurants. As you may notice, the French diplomatic network is fully mobilised to make this event a huge success. This grand event on March 21st will see over 5000 chefs participating in 150 countries in 5 continents!

One of the main reasons, France is at the origin of this event is because gastronomy helps us project our culture and our values throughout the world. It is also one of the key factors for the millions of visitors that come to France. It is said that no less than one - third of them come to France just to taste our French food and wine. France has the ambition to welcome 100 million tourists in 2020 and the development of tourism by valorizing the French cuisine is expected to play a major role in our attractiveness.

So now without any further ado, it is with great pleasure that I present to you the following restaurants taking part this year:

1- The Philosophy Restaurant at Silver Mountain School Of Hotel Management

2- Pauline's Garden restaurant

3- Olive Garden restaurant at Radisson Hotel Kathmandu

4- La Terrace restaurant at Global Academy of Tourism and Hospitality Education

5- Garden Terrace restaurant at Crowne Plaza Kathmandu-Soaltee

6- The Chimney Restaurant at Hotel Yak and Yeti

7- The Old House restaurant in Durbar Marg

8- Vino Bistro in Lazimpat

Thanks to our gastronomical partners, Nepal is on a global map for celebrating the excellence in French cuisine. You can see the complete list of participating restaurants throughout the world on goodfrance.com.

When I visit many eateries in town, I am pleasantly surprised by the quality and the creativeness around the food. And as a Frenchman, it gives me immense pleasure to see the importance being given to developing a food culture and being innovative. I have found that Nepal and France share common values when it comes to gastronomy: Like in France, Nepal also believes in shared meals, in the friendly atmosphere, and use of local organic products. My wife and I, we regularly enjoy going to farmers’ market and buy local products directly from the farmers.

On my part, I will be organizing a small dinner at the Residence for a few friends with the help of my wife, Gael, and my Chef Uttam Aryal who was trained at my Ministry in Paris last year. Each French Ambassador is expected to host his own dinner.

Before I pass mike to the representatives of the restaurants, I would like to inform you that in 2019, we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. In order to mark and celebrate this, Nepal and France have jointly appointment Miss Nepal, Shrinkhala Khatiwada, as our Goodwill Ambassador. By the way, she is currently on a goodwill visit to France meeting senior French officials and eminent personalities and spreading the message of a new Nepal: a young, dynamic, vibrant country that is open to the outside. Participation of our gastronomical partners in this Good France event also sends a similar message.

Excerpts of the statement delivered at press conference.