Fermented foods at the Fête de la science Paris-Saclay 2026

Published: Oct 7, 2026 by FME Lab

On October 3–4, 2026, Stéphane Chaillou and Alice Lima took part in the Village des sciences at ENS Paris-Saclay for the Fête de la science, France’s annual science festival. This year’s theme, “Saveurs savantes”, invited visitors to explore the science behind food and flavour.

The Paris-Saclay science village was held in the school’s Germaine Tillion atrium in Gif-sur-Yvette. Led by La Diagonale at Université Paris-Saclay, with the participation of Plateforme 37, it brought together local research laboratories for interactive activities and short talks across biology, chemistry, physics and other disciplines. Following a day for school groups on October 2, the weekend welcomed the general public free of charge.

Together with Éric Dugat-Bony and Gwendoline Marquet from SAYFOOD, partners in the MetaSimFood and DOMINO projects, Stéphane and Alice ran a stand on fermented foods of today and tomorrow.

Visitors discussed familiar fermented foods such as yogurt, cheese, kefir, kombucha and sauerkraut, and observed lactic acid bacteria and the fungi found in Camembert and Roquefort under the microscope. These activities offered a closer look at the microbial communities behind everyday foods.

Photo montage of the SAYFOOD and Micalis fermented-food stand, discussions with visitors and microscope observations at ENS Paris-Saclay

Photo montage provided by Alice Lima.

For a glimpse of the stand, watch the video filmed on Sunday and shared on LinkedIn, featuring Éric Dugat-Bony introducing the workshop.

Fermented foods at the Fête de la science Paris-Saclay 2026

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