Gastronomy takes centre stage today

GASTRONOMY, WHICH is the art of eating and drinking, is to be the focus of a seminar organised by the tourism ministry, as it utilises innovative ways to grow the tourism industry.

Promoted through the ministry’s Tourism Linkages Network, the seminar, dubbed ‘Gastronomy of Fats and Oils – The Art of Choosing, Preparing and Cooking Good Food’, will be held today at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, St James.

The seminar forms part of four other networks that aim to diversify tourism offerings, create business opportunities and increase the use of local goods and services within the tourism sector.

The others include health and wellness, knowledge, shopping, and sport and entertainment.

FIRST-CLASS DESTINATION

At the Tourism Linkages Network strategy session in August, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett noted that if the networks perform optimally, the result would be a bolstering of Jamaica’s position as a firstclass tourist destination.

Consequently, the country would be attractive to investors.

Meanwhile, Tourism Linkages Network head, Carolyn McDonald Riley, outlined that food is an area that attracts many tourists, as people travel around the world to sample different cuisines.

McDonald Riley informed that the concentration on fats and oils is as a result of Jamaica’s big appetite for those kinds of food groups.

International Fats and Oils Consultant, Judy A. Carter, will present on the chemical composition and the best uses of fats and oils.

Another feature of the seminar will be meetings with executive, pastry and sous chefs to inform them of the various spices and sauces Jamaica has to offer.

Gastronomic tourism is considered to be a crucial one, because of its propensity to make a visitor’s trip a unique one. It also places the spotlight on the destination and helps to bolster its reputation as a good one.

Seprod Limited, which has partnered with the ministry, is a major sponsor of the event.