South Aegean islands’ flavours delighted international palates in London, where the South Aegean Breakfast Basket was presented on 6 November 2018 at the Hilton London Metropole’s restaurant Sky23. The special event took place in the framework of the renowned World Travel Market London (WTM) and granted international visibility to an outstanding variety of food products from the different islands.
The audience included representatives from leading tourism organizations and institutions, as well as journalists from Greek and international media, who had the chance to taste traditional recipes from the South Aegean Region prepared by the chefs of the Dodecanese and Cyclades Chefs Club with the best regional ingredients and products – ranging from Rhodian pitta, to honey from Rhodes and Kalymnos, and sweet tomato from Kos.
The South Aegean Breakfast Basket is an initiative developed under the umbrella of South Aegean, European Region of Gastronomy 2019 Taste the Season programme. Aimed to strengthen the links between gastronomy, hospitality and the primary sector, the project promotes local and traditional products from each island into local accommodation facilities for international visitors.
Presented abroad for the first time at the initiative of the Greek Confederation of Tourist Accommodation Enterprises (SETKE) and its President, Mr. Panagiotis Tokouzis, the South Aegean Breakfast Basket is part of SETKE’s wider Breakfast Programme developed to establish Greece as a popular gastronomic destination by promoting its gastronomic richness.
South Aegean’s Vice Governor of Tourism, Sport and Culture, Mrs. Marieta Papavassiliou participated in the event and affirmed that «culture, sports and gastronomy is the triptych on which the South Aegean Region’s tourist activities are based. Every initiative that promotes our land’s gastronomy and the islands’ genuine traditional products brings us closer to the goal of highlighting the local production, promoting local products in new markets and linking the primary sector with tourism, thus enriching the experience for those visiting our islands».
“From the outset, the present regional authority set out to highlight and promote the local products, produced in the islands of the Cyclades and the Dodecanese. Today we feel completely satisfied with the reaction upon the presentation of the South Aegean Breakfast Basket project,” declared the region’s Vice Governor of Primary Sector and Gastronomy, Mr. Philimon Zannetidis. “This comes to show that our original goal, for which we have worked according to plan and in cooperation with the Dodecanese and Cyclades Chefs Club, was achieved. Our islands have tremendous wealth, their local products, which we have managed to showcase in many countries through targeted actions» he concluded.
About the European Region of Gastronomy
Candidate and awarded Regions of Gastronomy from Europe, guided by IGCAT, are working together to raise awareness about the importance of their cultural and food uniqueness and share the long-term aim to: promote a better quality of life in European regions; highlight distinctive food cultures; educate for better health and sustainability; nurture creativity; improve tourism standards; and stimulate gastronomic innovation.
About IGCAT
IGCAT is a non-profit institute established in 2012, working with regional stakeholder consortiums in the fields of gastronomy, culture, arts and tourism. It counts on the expertise of a worldwide network of experts and works in partnership with specialised intergovernmental organisations.
IGCAT aims to empower local communities by guiding, facilitating, and supporting leaders in regions to understand the potential of their distinct food, culture, arts and sustainable tourism assets.
IGCAT provides the Region of Gastronomy Award and is the official secretariat for the European Region of Gastronomy Platform. Furthermore, the Institute has developed the European Young Chef Award the Local Food Gift Challenge, the Top Food Experiences of the Year and the Food Film Festivals project.