Dine alberta, Source Local and Culinary Tourism

As relatively new travel trend (ok so the trend is not new just the name) Culinary Tourism sounds interesting and right up my alley. I mean that’s how we like to travel, go to a place, immerse ourselves in the culture, history, and food of the area and then head home. Our trip to Japan (2004) was like that. Our trip to England (2007) was definitely like that. Our trip to New Orleans (2008) was the most reflective of that style of travel. The true question is can it be a trend here in the Pass?

Let’s face it the Pass is not known for its fine restaurants or food outlets. When guests think of here(if they do) they think mountains, fishing, snowmobiling, relaxation, and maybe visiting family but fine restaurants are not on the list. What food outlets do we have to choose from? Popiel's, The Tin Roof, Vito's, The Rum Runner, Pure Country, Chris's, Ben Wong's, Rivers edge, Sidetrax, Stones Throw, Happy Mart, Red Crown, Cousin Vinnie’s, Crowsnest Mountain resort, Cinnamon Bear and the Fly Shop ( not mentioned are all the Bed and Breakfasts that serve guests meals) cover about all the restaurants and quazi restaurants. Some are good, some not so much but all suffer from their popularity or lack of in one way or another. And to my knowledge with the exception of one, none of these places source locally. Even I do very little of it (although I do buy local produce when it is available, as well as eggs and some meat products) By Local I do not mean bought in the local grocery store( no restaurant can afford to pay retail all the time and make a profit) but I refer to locally grown or produced product.

It is one of the tenets of the Dine Alberta program, Your menu must have a high percentage of Local ( Alberta ) grown product. Now most of us food preparers use Alberta beef, we would be crazy not to. It’s the best in the world but what about the rest of the raw food stuffs? Where can we get them from? That is one of the mandates of Dine Alberta - putting Chefs, and Buyers in touch with Alberta producers. check out the web site

The next step in joining the Culinary Tourism band wagon would be to identify a food history that is appealing to guests. Is there a possibility here for that? Sure there is. The Crowsnest Pass has a wealth of ethnic diversity that could easily transpose itself into unique eatery menus that could attract guests. Popeil's uses the tool a little , by playing on the owners polish heritage and serving cabbage rolls (on the menu) borscht and perogies( as specials) with great success, Pure Country plays on the western theme but that’s about it. Perhaps it's something for the rest to consider when next they remake their menus.

What do we do ourselves to promote this type of cooking? Not enough! I mean I buy local when every I can. I include dishes of ethnic origins that are very well received. I use as much Alberta produced product as I can. We have participated in the Dine Alberta program and done some really nice meals under that banner but it's still not enough. I think that to tap into this growing tourism trend we would have to band together and do it as a group and then maybe, just maybe we could make a name for ourselves in the market.

For further reading on Culinary Tourism, and Dine Alberta check these out: Alberta Food Road Trip, CHOMP , Culinary Tourism.