World Burger Contest – Editorial by Chairman Fabrice Pannekoucke

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is indisputably France’s greatest region in terms of gastronomy. Our lands are a treasure trove of products, dishes and world-renowned chefs. Gastronomy is an integral part of our country and region’s identity and cultural heritage. As heirs to this legacy, we must preserve and pass on this culinary heritage. This is why we are supporting the World Burger Contest. It is a way to pay tribute to all of the artisans and an opportunity to help people discover or rediscover our gastronomic skills and local produce. 

Major events such as these enable us to promote our gastronomic heritage, and the SIRHA is a perfect example of this. We are proud to take part in this important event through our support of Team France, led by Paul Marcon for the Bocuse d’Or. We’ll be in attendance again this year as a major partner of the World Burger Contest. This international competition will showcase our regional products, as competitors will mainly use products from the “Ma Région, Ses Terroirs” brand to create their recipes.

Spearheaded by Laurent Wauquiez, this regional brand features more than 4,500 products certified as “Made in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes”, encouraging our inhabitants to consume food that is locally grown and produced. Not only does this approach respond to the need to strengthen our food sovereignty, now under threat more than ever before, but it also meets ecological imperatives, since the best way to protect the environment is to consume locally and thus avoid emitting CO2 through the importation of agricultural products from the other side of the globe.

I would like to wish everyone an excellent SIRHA 2025! Best of luck to all the chefs in the running.