THERE will be a taste of France when the third Taste of Birmingham hits town next week.

Four top chefs from Birmingham's twin city Lyon will be taking part in the four-day event at Cannon Hill Park. Edgbaston.

They are Joseph Viola from the restaurant Daniel et Denise, Laurent Bouvier of Le Puy D'or, Frédéric Berthod from Le 33 Cité and Olivier Paget of Le Fleurie. All are members of the Lyon branch of Les Toques Blanches, a worldwide network of chefs formed in 1906 to share a passion for food, transfer knowledge, and promote quality regional produce and cuisine.

Visitors to Taste of Birmingham, supported by the Birmingham Mail, will be able to sample a three-course menu prepared by Les Toques Blanches Lynonnaises.

Dishes include crosmequis of foie gras, tomato confit, mango petals and herb salad, dumplings of pike with crayfish tails and red fruit craquant with crystallised mint.

Birmingham and Lyon have forged a strong link following Birmingham's entry earlier this year to the Delicenetwork, which celebrates the world's great culinary cities.

Chefs from Les Toques Blanches Lyonnaises visited the city in March to cook alongside Andreas Antona of Simpsons Restaurant and David Colcombe of Opus at two celebratory dinners.

David Colcombe said: "What a great honour to have these four chefs from the culinary capital of Europe coming to the Taste of Birmingham festival.

"It will be great fun to see Joseph and Frédéric again and a marvellous opportunity for the people of the Midlands to taste a sample of Lyonnaise food.

"This is what Birmingham's membership of Delice is all about - the building of strong relationships and sharing city cuisines."

Local restaurants taking part in this year's weekend festival include Simpsons, Opus, Lasan, Filini Restaurant at Radisson SAS Hotel, Aria at the Hyatt, Hotel Du Vin, The Oriental, Itihaas, Malmaison and Thai Edge.

And the Ludlow restaurant La Becasse will also be participating.

Visitors will be able to sample signature dishes from the restaurants taking part and also enjoy demonstrations from celebrity chefs such as Antony Worrall Thompson and Aldo Zilli.

They can also meet local producers at the Delicious. magazine Producers' Market.

A Gastro Pub Corner will show off the region's best pub food and the Spice Quarter will showcase the area's diverse ethnic cuisine.

The event kicks off with a VIP launch on Thursday, July 10 and runs until Sunday, July 13.

* Tickets start from £12 and can be bought from the box office 0871 230 5581 or through the website www. channel4.com/taste