Foodie Buzz: 2012 is Belgian Year of Gastronomy

This sounds like a blast for gourmands and foodies: The Belgian Tourist Office has announced the 2012 Year of Gastronomy campaign, showcasing Brussels and French-speaking Belgium, Wallonia, as a gastronomic destination featuring Brusselicious 2012–A Gourmet Odyssey.
 
There's much more to Belgian cuisine beyond waffles and moules frites, and next year Brussels and Wallonia plan to show off their stuff. From Michelin-starred chefs to the one and only Beer Route (more than 650 types of beer!), from Chocolate to Wépion strawberries, with site-specific Gourmet Happenings and Food Festivals galore, including the European Final of the Bocuse d'Or in March 2012, visitors will have plenty to try.
 
Visitors to Brussels and Wallonia in 2012 will have a range of events to choose from: They can try the iconic symbols of Belgium cuisine like mussels or the eponymous Brussels sprouts presented as larger-than-life sculptures all around town. They can also tour the city on the Brussels Food Tramway, dining and sight-seeing as they go. There will also be a Taste Magician (we couldn't make this up) who will wander the streets with only an electric heating plate to concoct local dishes with whatever products are at hand. Confirmed epicureans will enjoy unique gourmet experiences like tasting roasted wild boar and guinea fowl in the courtyard of the Town Hall accompanied by a folkloric fair in the Grand’ Place with bear trainers and minstrels, or sipping champagne accompanied by a caviar and lobster dinner in the Art deco rooms of the Villa Empain.
 
For a calendar of events, visit www.brusselicious.be or www.visitbelgium.com.