County Galway – European Region of Gastronomy 2018

 

Galway, West of Ireland – European Region of Gastronomy 2018

Galway has been officially awarded a European Region of Gastronomy 2018, the first region in Ireland to receive this designation.Galway will be one of just two European Regions of Gastronomy in 2018.

The European Region of Gastronomy award provides Galway with an excellent opportunity to build on the strong reputation and the excellent name it has in terms of a tourist destination, by building its profile further nationally and very importantly internationally.

The Designation

The designation offers an opportunity to put in place strong support and to develop programmes which focus on building on the strengths of our Food; Agriculture; Tourism; Marine; Creative and Arts sectors and industries by bringing together all the parties working with a common aim. The European Region of Gastronomy programme will contribute to further growth in the economy in the Galway region and contribute to job creation across the various sectors and industries. While the designation is for the year 2018 which will comprise of a yearlong programme of events of all types from support to businesses, to community celebration, from conferences to symposia work is already underway to deliver projects that will support the key focus areas and have a lasting legacy.

In 2018 Galway, West of Ireland will share the honour of this title with North Brabant in the Netherlands and both regions will use the award year to work collaboratively on a number of projects and work with the other regions in the European Region of Gastronomy platform.

Galway’s Gastronomical Heritage

The Heritage Office of Galway County Council in partnership with local heritage groups, schools, individuals and the National Museum of Ireland Country Life have now embarked on documenting Galway’s rich gastronomic heritage on its website http://heritage.galwaycommunityheritage.org/content/category/topics/galways-gastronomic-heritage

As gastronomy is really about the art or science of good eating the Heritage Office and its partners will seek to show the rich tradition that the county of Galway has in relation to food, its production and the art of preparing and serving it at the local level.

Topics include local foods from the land and the water, self-sufficiency, recipes, shops and provisions, fairs and markets, special occasions, wild foods, folklore and cures, co-operatives, the famine, food from the ‘Big House’, food from the ‘small house’, the coming of electricity and water as well as the Schools Folklore Collection.

For further information please see http://heritage.galwaycommunityheritage.org/content/category/topics/galways-gastronomic-heritage

Or contact Marie Mannion, Heritage Officer, Galway County Council @ 091 509198 or email mmannion@galwaycoco.ie