This Sunday: The Big Fig Shindig!

The 10th Annual Fig Festival of Caromb is an all-day celebration of food and wine, with top chefs and winemakers coming out to fête the luscious local fruit by crafting all sorts of figgy dishes and matching them with labels from local vintners. 

This year, the focus is on gastronomy. Ten chefs will be cooking, all of them big names in the region: Christian Etienne, Franck Jacquier, Alain Burnel, Michel Meissonier, Tony Tichant, Richard Bagnol, Pascal Poulain, Camille Stabholz, Thomas Richard (who won the French TV show Masterchef in 2012) and the famous nougat maker Sylvain.

You'll also have the chance to taste and buy figs directly from producers, along with fig-tree seedlings and a wide range of foods made from figs and other local produce. 

The village of Caromb, in the foothills of Mt. Ventoux, expects roughly 100 exhibitors and 6000 fig fans to attend.

The Fête de la Figue Longue Noire de Caromb runs from 9 am to 6 pm. The chefs will be at their stands from 9 to 4, cooking with figs and offering tastes.  At 11:30, there's the procession of the officials of the Confreries de la Figue de Caromb. At 12:30, everyone will be offered an apéritif by the Cave Saint Marc.

For lunch, reserve ahead (call 06 75 44 13 04) for a special menu of fig-based dishes prepared by Camille Stabholz of Restaurant Camille in Carpentras and Pascal Poulain of the brand-new restaurant Le 6 a Table in Caromb. Lunch is 15€ per person.

There will also be raffle, a jam-making contest and a "discovery of the senses" for kids at 3 pm. Entry to the festival, parking and shuttle service are all free.

                          

The fig fest is hosted and staged by the Confrérie de la Figue Longue Noire de Caromb, 06 80 75 21 18, confreriefigue.caromb@orange.fr, confreriefigue-caromb.com. You can also find them on Facebook.

If you need info in English: florence.levasseur@gmail.com, 06 18 71 36 24.