From game cuisine and fresh farm-to-table fare to award-winning restaurants with top chefs at the helm, Colorado has an agricultural heritage all its own. On October 10, the Colorado Tourism Office Heritage and Agritourism Program and Northwest Colorado Cultural Heritage Tourism, an initiative of the Community Agriculture Alliance, will host the first annual Culinary Tourism Workshop in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
This tracked workshop, led by Erik Wolfe, International Culinary Tourism Association, offers invaluable insight into the culinary tourism industry and can benefit anyone who is in – or wants to join – the industry: tourism organizations, aspiring chefs, restaurant managers, event planners, farmstead producers, winemakers and microbrewers, etc.
The workshop includes sessions on culinary tourism product development, food culture, strategic brainstorming and more. A special lunch in the Yampa Valley is included in the workshop registration, as is transportation via shuttle bus from the Steamboat Grand Hotel.
This is the perfect time for this workshop, since culinary tourism and agritourism are more popular than ever, according to Laura Grey, heritage and agritourism manager for the Colorado Tourism Office.
“Those want to break into the industry and those who are already in the industry and simply want to take the next step can both benefit from attending the workshop,” said Grey. “The sessions cover everything from the production and operations end to the business and branding aspects, which are equally important in the culinary tourism world.”
Scholarship applications will be accepted. Scholarships cover the cost of the workshop, lunch, workbook and shuttle to the event. For additional information on the workshop, including schedule and registration details, visit www.coloradotourismconference.com/culinary.
