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This month, our culinary passport series takes us to France! We will explore the flavors, traditions and spirit of the French people with a special nod to Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games. We will celebrate the athleticism, passion, and unity that the Games inspire, reflecting the same values that underpin our shared culinary and cultural experiences.

At this event we will discover the intersection of food, culture and diplomacy while learning how these elements contribute to France’s global influence. All of these at the heart of France in Houston, the Alliance Française de Houston with special guest Consul General of France Valérie Baraban.

Our Culinary Passport series explores the histories, traditions and cultures of different cultures around the world. Other destinations we’ve toured; Spain, Israel, South Korea, Iran, Colombia & more..

About the speaker:

Valérie Baraban is an aluma of the Ecole normale supérieure de Paris (Ulm), a credentialed philosophy instructor and recipient of the Prix Romieu.

Her passion for public and world affairs led her to join the French Foreign Office at the Quai d’Orsay. Her diplomatic career began in 2005 in the policy branch of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, in the Strategic Affairs sector, where she was in charge of arms export control and arms control.

In 2013, she was assigned to Brussels as negotiator at the French Delegation to NATO, and monitored the Alliance’s military operations as well as the reform of intelligence governance. At that time, NATO was making changes to its operation in Afghanistan and cooperating with the European Union in view of the migration crisis in the Mediterranean, while the Allies were involved in the global coalition to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

In the summer of 2017, she joined the Elysée Palace as diplomatic advisor of the National Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Coordinator. She was responsible in particular for France’s international initiatives related to combatting the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, mobilization against the financing of terrorism and strengthening security strategies in Europe.

On September 1, 2021, she began her duties as Consul General of France in Houston.

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