No matter where people go, we all have to eat. While the global spread of American fast food means one isn’t forced to eat grasshopper tacos, jellied moose nose, cooked duck embryo, grilled guinea pig, sheep’s eyeball, or witchetty grub soup, food is often a memorable (good or otherwise) aspect of our travels. As cuisine is a manifestation of culture, the dedicated traveller will seek out that which a location is uniquely known for, if not making it the entire purpose of their trip. This is one of the fastest growing segments in tourism.

An increasing recognition of the interest in culinary tourism has spawned travel guides  — Lonely Planet’s World Food — and television series — Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation. It is also garnering greater attention from destination marketing organizations, hospitality businesses, and food producers eager to attract these tourists. Italy has its Agriturismo programme. British Columbia is hoping to similarly develop this segment with the Culinary Tourism Society BC leading the way.

On March 9, the CTSBC held the Second Annual Culinary Tourism Society BC Conference at the Sutton Place Hotel. C Restaurant’s Robert Clark and Julian Bond of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts were the conference emcees. The full-day event offered participants an indicator of how the province is developing as a global culinary destination and sound advice on how to take advantage of this. While there is a steep path ahead of us, the conference was inspirational in terms of the energy exhibited by our culinary tourism proponents and, especially, the showcase of local food provided at breakfast, lunch, and during the coffee breaks prepared by Junior BC Chefs under the direction of Bernard Casavant of the Burrowing Owl Estate Winery’sThe Sonora Room.

What makes British Columbia unique in the eyes of the culinary tourist is not only dependent on the skill and imagination of those preparing visitors’ meals. It also comes down to profitably sourcing local ingredients. This was one of the morning’s topics that highlighted a number of fundamental challenges inherent in being able to deliver a uniquely BC culinary tourism experience. The issues that we face here in terms of achieving food security will very much impact our ability to provide visitors with a local experience, never mind feeding our own population within the context of climate change and peak oil. For example, the wild Pacific salmon is emblematic of the Canadian West Coast. However, if we continue to be negligent in the stewardship of this magnificent animal and allow its population to collapse like that of the Atlantic cod, the ripple effect will not only be ecological but cultural and economic. Would a tourist knowingly accept a farmed Atlantic salmon instead? If wild Alaska or Kamchatka salmon were substituted, would that not be a subliminal advertisement for those destinations?

Another major challenge is for BC farmers to find buyers for their produce so that they can sell the majority of their crop at a reasonable enough price to make a living. On the other hand, buyers are looking to minimize their costs so that they don’t have to price themselves beyond what tourists are willing to pay for a meal. This comes down to effective communication between buyers & sellers and efficient logistics. Both are in need of major development.

According to two George Brown College professors, B.C. has a well-developed culinary tourism community in comparison to Ontario. Both were recently involved in writing a 10 year Culinary Tourism Action and Strategy Plan for Ontario where they first had to define what they wanted the province to be known for culinary-wise. While B.C. certainly doesn’t have that problem, Ontario has the budget to implement its plan; we do not have such marketing funds specifically dedicated to culinary tourism. Consequently, it becomes very important to find ways of achieving the highest return from money and time invested — know who your customers are and find the most economical means of getting your message to them.

Erik Wolf, President and CEO of the International Culinary Tourism Association, offered a global perspective on the culinary tourist and how to position B.C. in the market. His main message, however, was not to try to “grow our slice of the pie,” but to grow the pie by collaborating on a regional level with our Cascadian neighbours. Combining our marketing dollars with those of Washington and Oregon creates a much larger budget with which to better compete on a global scale. He also advised not to overlook the opportunity to leverage your promotional dollars by turning locals into ambassadors. Satisfied residents will recommend your business to visitors.

The challenge of marketing was highlighted by Murray Driediger of BCfresh and Deirdre Campbell, founding partner of The Tartan Group. Their remarks reinforced Erik Wolf’s contention that the traditional destination marketing organization pay-to-play model limits our ability to develop BC’s culinary tourism sector. It excludes many of the small businesses who cannot afford the expense, yet have much to offer in co-operating with other stakeholders. Their participation adds more depth and breadth to our culinary tourism offering. Therefore, an inclusive model must be found if we are to overcome the handicap of limited resources. BCfresh has shown how this can be done. We need to do this on a larger scale, in a more integrated fashion, and involve both primary and secondary stakeholders.

The conference ended with attendees randomly assigned to one of the following five culinary tours aboard Vancouver Trolley Company vehicles: A Wok Around Chinatown, Granville Island Market Tour & Granville Island Brewing, Restaurant Row, Wine & Culinary Delights, and Little Italy. The day’s theory was thus translated into practice.

Karen Hamilton, who graciously supplied the above photos, blogged the conference. For more photos and details of each of the sessions, visit her Tiny Bites food blog. If you are interested in becoming accredited with the Culinary Tourism Society BC or nominating a business for certification, visit the Society’s Web site.

Note: the 5th Annual BC Restaurant Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony will be held March 30 at the new Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre. See The BC Restaurant Hall of Fame Web site for details.