Feature: Expo Milano 2015 enjoys Belgium conviviality

"I look into the waste bins to see if the fries have been eaten and I just see the packages, so it is a good sign," Bernard Lefevre, National President of the Belgian Union of Fritkot owners UNAFRI, told Xinhua on Friday at the Italian world exposition in Milan.

From 2,000 to 3,000 portions of fries are sold every day at the Belgium Pavilion, he said. Friday was the Belgium National Day at Expo Milano 2015. The Expo is dedicated to sustainable nutrition and safe food, an occasion for the small European country to showcase the greatness of its delicacies.

"Belgium is a very small country, we are just in the middle of the German and the Latin culture. We combine them into something that is of a high quality but with a lot of love and art, which I think makes a good portion of fries," Lefevre went on saying.

But what is the secret of famous Belgian fries? "We have a special way of frying them twice. The first time is to cook them, then we make fries refresh and we fry them for a second time to make them crispy. We have a special oil also, we add some beef fat, and then there is the Belgium touch ... fries should swim in the oil, they need space," Lefevre explained to Xinhua.

Not only Belgian fries are well-known, Bernard Deryckere, President of Fevia, the Belgian Federation of Food Industry, highlighted. "Everybody knows the Belgian beer because we have many beers including speciality ones. But next to beers we have chocolates, cookies and a lot of products," he noted.

Deryckere explained to Xinhua in an interview that "quality, innovation and diversity" are the elements that make Belgian food famous in the world.

Deryckere said he enjoys very much the international spirit of the world exposition, where people with different cultures and languages meet together to share the best knowledge and experience. "My son used to study in Shanghai, so I like China, and I want to see the pavilions of many other countries," he said.

On Friday, Queen Mathilde of Belgium attended the flag raising ceremony at Expo Milano 2015. She then visited the Belgium Pavilion, accompanied by Belgian and Italian authorities.

A slope which recreates the bucolic Belgian countryside on a small scale outside the pavilion was animated by welcome foods and drinks, as well as by music performances including those of the New Orleans Train Jazz Band, born 40 years ago, and famous Belgian song-writer Henry Ozark.

"I feel home here," said a Belgian visitor, Nicolas Marchand, while sitting on the slope and eating Belgian fries with a few friends. "I came here for the Belgium National Day and naturally also to visit the world exposition," he told Xinhua.

Inside the pavilion, there are displays and experiments focusing on remarkable scientific and technical advances in the field of food technology, such as alternative food production methods, aquaponics, hydroponics, cultivation of insects and algae. Endit