Ellen Wallace is posting here while Jonell is away; she’ll be back next week.

Prepare to rub elbows with a lot of people if you head for Gruyère in the next four days: the charming hillside castle town is expecting 40,000 people to visit the Salon suisse des Goûts & Terroirs, Switzerland’s largest regional produce fair. It’s a great place to discover regional dishes and suppliers, with 250 artisans on hand.

There are 20 workshops for children ages 6 to 12 and three for adults, on whisky, molecular cuisine and mushrooms. This year’s fair has invited star-studded super-chef Irma Dütsch who made her name at the Fletschhorn Hotel in Saas Fee to be its ambassador, and she is offering public cooking lessons with Swiss celebrities invited to cook under her guidance.

The Salon opens from 10:30-22:30 Wednesday to Sunday, 9-13 September and 10:30-17:30 Monday the 14th.

Entry: CHF6 for children and CHF13 for adults.