Paris - French dishes and diplomacy joined forces on Thursday in a worldwide initiative involving 1 300 chefs cooking dinners "a la francaise" to promote France's fabled cuisine.
The meals were being served up in 150 countries, in French embassies and consulates, as well as hotels, restaurants and cafés, under the slogan "Gout de France/Good France".
The global operation, sponsored by the French government, aimed to highlight French cooking, an essential pillar of France's identity that was designated an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2010. It is also a key contributor to its economy and a tourism draw.