Nova Scotia awarded first World Culinary Summit

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HALIFAX— In September 2010, the culinary world will discover Nova Scotia. The province has won the bid to host the first ever World Culinary Tourism Thought Leadership World Summit and Consumer Marketplace.

The International Culinary Tourism Association organizes the event and Nova Scotia was in tough against other cities from Canada, the United States and Europe.

“We were competing against established culinary destinations from around the globe,” said Janice Ruddock, executive director of Taste of Nova Scotia, in a statement.

“Winning the bid for this summit confirms what we have known for a while—that our local farmers, fishermen, chefs, winemakers and tourism partners are producing international caliber culinary experiences for consumers.”

Between 300 and 500 leaders in the culinary tourism sector will gather to establish best practices for the industry and come up with solutions for sustaining and developing the culinary tourism industry going forward.

They will travel around the province to wineries, restaurants and tourism operators as well as take part in group seminars to come up with ideas to boost the culinary sector.

To wine the bid, Taste of Nova Scotia crafted a bid that not only answered the questions of the Oregon-based International Culinary Tourism Association, but also included Nova Scotia wine, a chocolate lobster, and post cards showing off the province.

“The dedication to culinary tourism, this conference and participation from so many different governing agencies within Nova Scotia made Nova Scotia an ideal pick for our first conference,” said Casey Canevari of the International Culinary Tourism Association, in a statement.

The host committee is make up of representatives from Taste of Nova Scotia, the Winery Association of Nova Scotia, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Departments of Tourism and Agriculture, the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Association of Cooks & Chefs as well as Slow Food Nova.

“As the first summit, Nova Scotia will set the bar for future world culinary tourism conferences,” Ruddock said.

“We are very excited about this opportunity but it would have never been possible without the support and passion for culinary tourism of so many people in this province.”