NEW YORK- March 5, 2003- This spring New Yorkers won't need a Fairy Godmother or magic pumpkins to get a taste of the good life, they will only need to look around the city. Monaco Takes New York (April 28-May 3, 2003), the weeklong celebration of the Principality throughout New York City, will be showcasing some of the best Monaco has to offer, treating all to "happily ever after…" in true Monégasque style. A major highlight of the event will be a Monégasque Culinary Week at Le Cirque 2000.

From Monday, April 28 through Friday, May 2, Monaco and Gourmet magazine will treat New York epicures to a week of delectable Mediterranean lunches at Sirio Maccioni's famed Le Cirque 2000. Chef Sylvain Etievant of Monaco's legendary Hôtel de Paris will take diners on a mouth-watering culinary journey that includes signature-dish samplings and Mediterranean delicacies. Diners will have the chance to win a private cooking class with Gourmet in-house chef and host of the Food Network's "Sarah's Secrets," Sarah Moulton.

On the menu for the week will be a variety of Mediterranean dishes including Provencal-style octopus, fillet of John Dory, roast lobster with celery and veal over au gratin polenta. Because of its location between the French and Italian Rivieras, Monegasque cooking is a unique blend of the regional cuisines of the Mediterranean, combining the tastiest culinary influences of southern France and Italy. This savory fare is noted for its extensive use of native seasonal fruits and vegetables, herbs and fresh Mediterranean seafood, meat and poultry. Dating back several hundred years, it is renowned for its simplicity in preparation, pure taste and healthy qualities.

Chef Sylvain Etievant hails from one of the world's most renowned luxury resorts, Monaco's Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), where he has worked for the past 9 years. It is at the SBM's Hotel de Paris that Etievant demonstrates his talent for preparing traditional yet creative Monégasque cuisine for the hotel's Grill and Salle Empire restaurants. During the summer months, Etievant is chef at Alain Ducasse's Bar & Boeuf restaurant in the Sporting-Monte-Carlo (rated 1 star by the Michelin guide), where he interprets a modern cuisine through a gastronomic tour of Mediterranean.

A young yet talented chef, Etievant has worked with some of the greatest culinary masters in the world, including Dany Meyer of New York's own Union Square Café. Fascinated and inspired by different culinary philosophies, Sylvain is dedicated to discovering and reinventing modern cuisine. Etiévant approaches classic Monégasque cuisine in his own way by applying both traditional and modern modes of preparation, while at the same time, conserving its essential spirit: simplicity, authenticity, healthiness and respect for the produce. Whether it's the classic cuisine of the Hotel de Paris or the modern fare of the Bar & Boeuf, Etievant does it all with a special flare all his own.

For reservations for the Monégasque Culinary Week, please call Le Cirque 2000 at (212) 303-7788. Additional highlights of the "Monaco Takes New York" event include performances of Cinderella by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), an outdoor Grand Prix car exhibit at the New York Palace hotel, shopping extravaganza and special all-inclusive 2-day packages at the New York Palace Hotel.

For more information, visit www.MonacoTakesNewYork.com or call the Monaco Government Tourist Office at (800) 753-9696.