What role do professional gatherings (fairs, festivals, exhibitions, etc.) play in the globalization of professions? A study of the programmes of five international food festivals held in Europe over a three-year period shows that the globalization displayed in the communication of these events remains in fact limited. The strong presence of chefs working in the festival’s host country, the festival’s language, and the origin of the exhibitors and media coverage tend to show that, despite food festivals promoting their international dimension, they focus mostly on national professional communities, albeit to varying extents. The field-shaping power of these trade events, both in terms of defining and organizing hierarchies, seems to be restricted to the configuration of a national professional community.