Write up about the Conference
The 3rd International Conference UNITWIN UNESCO Network “Culture, Tourism, Development” centered on Tourism and Gastronomy heritage: Foodscapes, Gastroregions and Gastrnomy Tourism to be held from June 16-20, 2014 in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain).
This meeting aims to present current research and tendencies in gastronomy heritage and tourism based on biodiversity and cultural diversity of our territories, most of them promoted as gastroregions and gastronomy tourism destinations.
UNESCO has contributed to reinforce the gastronomy heritage promoting universal value of cultural landscapes, more of them foodscapes, inscribed in the World Heritage List; including culinary and traditional food manifestations and expressions in the Immaterial Heritage List; or promoting gastronomy as category at the network of Creative Cities, European Cultural Routes promoting gastronomy as category at the network of Creative Cities. European Cultural Routes promoted by Council of Europe also included initiatives related to foodscapes as the Olive Oil Route or Iter Vitis – The ways of the Wine and includes culinary heritage as transversal Item.
This multidisciplinary conference is co-organized by the UNITWIN UNESCO Network “Culture, Tourism and Development” (coordinated by University Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne), the Universitat de Barcelona and IBERTUR Network with the collaboration of several international public, private and third sector organizations.
Josep Pla, a Catalan writer said that “the cuisine of a land is its landscape inside a casserole”. The passion for seafood, mountain and agricultural products, and the richness and originality of the traditional cuisine are the reason why Catalan cuisine has become one of the most admired on the World. The first books written in Catalan about our cuisine are The Book of Sent Sovi (1324), an anonymous manual with a hundred recipes, and the Llibre de coch (Book of the Cook) (1520). by Robert de Nola, both are authentic treasures for cuisine lovers. Now, we are preparing the candidature ti inscribe the safeguarding Catalan culinary initiatives to the best practice register of the UNESCO Convention of Immaterial Heritage.Catalonia is oe of the European gastroregions and a unique gastronomy tourism destination. We invited you to share with us our culinary heritage and to enjoy with our gastronomy experiences visiting Barcelona and Catalonia during the conference and in the academic visits.
The gastronomic heritage has contributed to consolidate Barcelona as an extraordinary food tourism destination, with a variety a quality offer. In addition, the Catalan capital has been located in a first plan with its international restaurants and the biggest names in its kitchens. In fact, Barcelona has 20 Michelin Stars.
Feedback on paper presented
a. A couple of professors commented on the sources of the introduced food. An Italian professor (Anna Trono from the University of Salento), for example, reacted to my statement that pizza was introduced by American tourists to Batad. She said that pizza comes from Italy and is part of the Italian food diaspora. An Israeli professor (Yoel Masfield, University of Haifa) also remarked on my statement that Israeli tourists taught the owner of an inn how to make a dish called shakshouka. The professor said that this dish is of Maghrebi origin.
b. Ms. Suzette Montinola from Enderun Colleges in BGC also asked my opinion about the sustainability of using imported ingredients like wheat flour, butter and milk in these remote areas. was there a possibility to develop food tourism based solely on local ingredients?
c. After my presentation, Professor Sidney Cheung, a well-known food antrhopologist from the Chinese University of Honghong, took me aside and asked about my work in the Cordilleras.He also welcomed my interest in pursuing a PhD under his tutelage.
d. Professor Ema Pires from the University of Evora in Portugal also praised my presentation for providing a rich contextual background of the indigenous food culture.
Future directions of research presented
a. Further study of other introduced or appropriated recipes should be done to document the evolution of the local food culture
b. Development of more recipes and locally-sourced products to promote gastronomic tourism in the Cordilleras
c. Provide opportunities to benefit from increasing tourism in the Cordilleras
Potential foreign collaborators
a. Ms. Carolina Perez Novoa, Ministry of Tourism, Ecuador
b. Prof. Sidney Cheung, Chinese University of Hong Kong
c. Prof. Ema Pires, University of Evora, Portugal
d. Dr. Aldo Buzio, UNESCO World Heritage Research Program, Turin, Italy
Other important contacts and insights
a. I was able to confer with the main organizer of the conference, Dr. Jordi Tresseras of the University of Barcelona, and he said that he is willing to supervise me when I told him that I was exploring the possibility of doing a PhD in intangible cultural heritage at his university.
b. I was also able to inquire about doing research on Mexican food culture with Mr. Roberto Palacios from Universidad de las Americas – Puebla since he is currently doing an ethonography of street food in Mexico.
c. Barcelona would be a great place to study the Filipino diaspora as there is a long history of Filipino migration to the area. There is also a known Filipino quarter in the Raval neighborhood.
Short write-up of one’s participation (to be used to feature/publicize the grantee’s participation in the conference)
Assistant Professor Raymond Aquino Macapagal of the Center for International Studies in Diliman recently went to the gastronomical mecca of Barcelona to present his paper entitled “Pinikpikan, Yoghurt and Lemon Pie: Indigenous Roots and Foreign Fare in the Evolution of Food Heritage in Tourist Towns of the Rice Terraces of the Philippines Cordilleras” at the 3rd International Conference of the UNITWIN UNESCO Network on “Culture, Tourism, Development”. His paper detailed how the touristic areas of the Cordilleras are continuously evolving a unique food culture as a result of foreign influences mixing with indigenous foodways. His paper also presented an alternative way of doing gatronomic tourism in order to make the local communities benefit more. Aside from feasting on the local tapas and wines, he also joined gastronomical tour of the city of Vic, which is famous for its salchichon (sausages). This event has provided Professor Macapagal with a lot of material which will definitely enrich his teaching of his Global Studies 197 class entitled “Global Gastronomy – Exploring the Delicious Universe of Food”.
