One World, One Table
Photos by Melissa Buote for Passable.
Early this week, Halifax hosted the 2010 Culinary Tourism Summit. The theme of the summit was “One World, One Table: Using Culinary Tourism for Economic Development.” Both Melissa Buote and myself were able to attend the three day conference, which began September 19th. (Note: stay tuned for Melissa’s upcoming post on the conference). With culinary tourism growing by leaps and bounds around the world (thai cooking lessons anyone?), could this be another way to bring tourism dollars to Nova Scotia and the rest of Atlantic Canada?
simonathibault and 
Doug Townsend are discussing. 
djarv, 
MB, 
Diana Casareale, and 2 others are discussing. 
Passable 
Doug Townsend 4:37 pm on September 23, 2010 Permalink |
Simon – I’m glad that you were able to attend the summit, listen the presentations, meet some of the delegates and taste some of the great food served throughout the event. I have to agree that the One World, One Table luncheon was a real highlight of the three days. Not only were all of the dishes unique and delicious, but the personal connection that was talked about by presenters such as Michael Smith was facilitated through the demonstrations of each of the four chefs on stage.
Being part of the group that organized this conference, I am extremely pleased with the final product now that all is said and done. We were able to bring together delegates, speakers and media from more than a dozen countries. We were able to facilitate engaging and sometimes interactive sessions with a wide variety of presenters covering diverse topic matter. We provided a number of quality networking opportunities – some of which lasted until the wee hours of the morning and we were able to successfully showcase many of Nova Scotia’s wonderful culinary products and phenomenal culinary talents to an international audience (including the chef and kitchen staff of the World Trade Centre).
To address your final point about a notable lack of local food producers or farmers in attendance at the conference, I offer the following. This situation can be attributed a number of reasons, but there are couple that stick out in my view. The conference happened to fall smack in the middle of harvest season and one of the busiest tourism periods of the year in Nova Scotia. The decision to host the conference when we did was not taken lightly. We understood that the timing would be tough for operators, producers and farmers, but without going into detail, there were a number of factors which dictated why the conference was hosted this past week. Despite the actual time of year, it has been our experience that it’s difficult for producers and farmers to step away from their businesses for more than a day at the best of times. In most cases, owners are operators and it can be difficult for them to justify leaving the business for several days (not to mention spending hundreds of dollars on registration fees and accommodations). It is also important to note that we made every effort to encourage our members to join us at the conference.
All that being said, it is our responsibility at Taste of Nova Scotia to pass on all of the incredible ideas that emerged from the summit to businesses throughout the province. In addition, we will continue to lead the charge in the development of a viable culinary tourism industry in Nova Scotia. The development of an industry which is collaborative, innovative, inclusive and accessible for all of those who wish to play a part.
The Summit has us inspired and excited about truly positioning Nova Scotia as a legitimate international culinary tourism destination. I would even go as far as saying that this could be the tipping point. But, I guess only time will tell…
simonathibault 8:08 pm on September 23, 2010 Permalink |
Hey Doug,
Thanks for your reply.
I completely understand (and even thought of) the issue of harvest season. It’s not easy to find time, and this time of year is crucial to many farmers. I appreciate you taking the time out to point this out and clarify the situation.