“Food tourism – not just tourism – is essential to the makeup of the city, county and region. Food is the thing that knits together the fabric of our land and sea. The experience of food is vital to our visitors. That is what they will remember: how good or bad our food was, what was its provenance, did it have a story that communicated the voice of a region.”
This is how international chef, business owner, and founder of Food on the Edge, JP McMahon highlighted the importance of local food culture at the launch of EUREGA project in Galway-West of Ireland, European Region of Gastronomy 2018, at the end of November 2018.
Developed in the framework of EU’s Interreg funding, the EUREGA project gathers several European Regions of Gastronomy in an effort to influence local and national policies to embrace gastronomy as a vital resource for regional sustainable development.
“My vision for a gastronomic region is one where all our key tourist sites sell local food products, where international visitors learn about local food while experiencing our culture and history” continued JP McMahon, underlining one of the main focus of the EUREGA project.
Patrick Devine, from the Northern & Western Regional Assembly – Galway-West of Ireland’s partner in the project – affirmed that EUREGA “has the potential to transform the visitor experience in this region and demand good local food at key tourist sites.” Furthermore, he noted “the extent of best practise we have in the region” with “world class offerings who are already collaborating and partnering for success.”
The lead partner of EUREGA is the Municipality of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (North Brabant, European Region of Gastronomy 2018). Further partners involved in the project are: PRODECA (Catalonia 2016); Northern & Western Regional Assembly (Galway-West of Ireland 2018); Province of Noord Brabant (North Brabant 2018); Sibiu County Council (Sibiu 2019); Development Agency of South Aegean Region – READ S.A. (South Aegean 2019); ProAgria Pohjois-Savo (Kuopio 2020); Hajdú-Bihar County Government (Hungary); and IGCAT (advisory partner).
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.