CASCADIAN CUISINE

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
KICKS OFF IN PORTLAND OREGON

Tourism offices, food & drink producers, association leaders, wineries, brewers, chefs and journalists met for a full day of strategic planning & thought leadership

Last week the World Food Travel Association (WFTA) officially kicked off Cascadian Cuisine, a new initiative focused on the development of a regional food and drink brand as a tool for economic development. The goal is that the new regional food brand will drive consumer awareness, create jobs and support the tourism efforts of communities across the region. At the meeting, the Association welcomed some of the most fervent food, drink and tourism players in the region to discuss topics such as borders, agricultural hallmarks, local entrepreneurship and sustainability in Cascadia.

Erik Wolf, Executive Director of WFTA explained the vision, “At its very core, Cascadian Cuisine is about economic and community development – bringing awareness, infusing fresh cash from outside the area, creating jobs, and preserving communities and the culinary culture of our region.”

Cascadian Cuisine draws deeply on the passion and unsurpassed quality of food and drink found in the bio-region that includes northwestern California, Oregon, Washington, southwestern British Columbia, Idaho and western Montana. In other words, as Jason French, Chef/Owner at Portland’s popular Ned Ludd Restaurant, says “the quality of our food and drink is very much grounded in the quality of the agricultural products found in Cascadia.”

Jason Knibbs, a tourism specialist from Vancouver, BC, Canada said he was “glad that the Association started the discussion about Cascadian Cuisine – a regional partnership like this has great opportunities.”

For anyone interested in getting involved with this initiative, the volunteer group holds monthly conference calls, as well as quarterly in-person meetings at destinations throughout Cascadia. The group’s next steps include:

· Create of an advisory board of regional thought leaders
· Create a business plan and strategy for Cascadian Cuisine
· Secure celebrity chef “faces of Cascadia”
· Reach out to tourism office as collaborative partners
· Develop programming and promotional materials

For more information, including how to get involved with this project, please contact Executive Director, Erik Wolf at erik@worldfoodtravel.org OR (+1) 503-213-3700

For partnership opportunities please contact the Association’s Relationship Manager, Maura White at maura@worldfoodtravel.org

To stay up to date on the initiative please follow Cascadian Cuisine’s page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CascadianCuisine or follow the Association’s tweets at @worldfoodtravel
World Food Travel Association