Belgium's Tomorrowland Creates A Global Community Through Food And EDM

There's an inside joke at EDM festivals that everyone's chewing but nobody's eating, referencing the side effects of the rampant drug use. But during the last two weekends of July, Belgium's Tomorrowland festival offered a more wholesome alternative: People were chewing and eating — in rooms filled with music by famous DJs.

Tomorrowland is one of the rare and special settings where you can befriend people from all over the world. Attendees wrap themselves in their countries' flags, and I saw every one from Israel's to the India's. The food reflected the same spirit, with Moroccan wraps, tacos, Korean barbecue, and (of course) Belgian fries sold at side-by-side stands.

Overlooking the stages at the high-end restaurant Tastes of the World, chefs served up Mexican lasagne with corn on the cob, mussels with Belgian beer sauce, and chocolates created by world-class chocolatiers with flavors like lime, mint, and beer to capture the taste of "tomorrow." Even the Staub Tomorrowland cocottes that held the cured meat and potatoes were engraved with world maps. But most importantly, guests who came alone or in small groups were seated at round tables with other travelers, creating fascinating dinner table conversations among people of different cultures.

The festival's most unique culinary offering, though, was B-EAT, a musical dining experience where people raved to surprise DJs as servers walked through the crowd handing out dishes by famous chefs. At the one I attended, Dutch DJ duo W&W spun house beats as Belgian chef Seppe Nobels whipped up juicy eggplant, beets (which I couldn't help but think was a play on words), and gazpacho with raspberries and ice cream — yes, ice cream. The chefs bounced up and down in the kitchen behind the DJs.

The B-EAT guests I met concurred that the combination didn't totally work. We couldn't see the food, which made every taste a surprise, it was hard to balance our plates while we danced, and our full stomachs limited our movements.

So maybe EDM and food don't completely go together. But Tomorrowland is about more than EDM. It's about connection and community — and nothing brings people together quite like international cuisine.