Minho Region visits Catalonia

IGCAT welcomed a delegation from 10 municipal authorities, representing the Minho Region of Portugal to discuss and explore their proposed candidature for the title of
European Region of Gastronomy in 2016. The overall aim of the European Region of Gastronomy programme is to contribute to a better quality of life in European Regions by conserving food cultures and stimulating gastronomic innovation. A network of regions will work long-term to support these aims by organising an award (with the support of the European institutions), administered and coordinated by an independent body (IGCAT) that can help to collect and disseminate the knowledge that is generated by the activity of the participating regions. In the longer term, the development of this programme should also help to emphasize the unique assets of Europe in relation to food cultures, which in turn can serve as sources of growth, social cohesion and sustainability. The European Region of Gastronomy award will be awarded to 2-3 regions from the network each year that will develop a strong programme of events and collaborations, helping the regions achieve Visibility, Viability, Cohesion and Credibility.  On the first day the delegation from Minho-IN were welcomed in Sant Pol de Mar (home to the renowend Michelin Star restuarant, Sant Pau and a leading hospitality school as well as IGCAT’s offices) by Prof. Greg Richards and Dr. Diane Dodd to discuss Minho’s challenges and how the European Region of Gastronomy award could help them address these. On the second day, stakeholders’ from Catalonia’s bid for the title hosted their counterpart partners and shared their experiences with culture and gastronomy. The meeting which took place in the Museu d’Historia de Catalunya enjoyed presentations from Blanca Cros, Agència Catlana de Turismo, Mireia Medina i Sala, Departament d’Agricultura, Ramaderia, Pesca, Alimentació i Medi Natural, Caroline Couret of the Creative Tourism Network and Carme Paterna from the campus Alimentaria. The meeting concluded with a guided visit by Sergi Freixes to his exhibition on titled War Menus: Avantgard Food and Survival which demonstrated how art, history, culture and food can be combined interesting and thought provoking ways.