Gastronomy forum discusses new ways to boost collaboration

The “International Gastronomy Forum, Macao 2019” kicked off yesterday, featuring panel sessions and exchanges on how each city within the network is embracing the opportunities as Creative Cities of Gastronomy to formulate new development models and forge international cooperation.

According to the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam, this year’s forum has welcomed a record number of representatives from the Creative Cities of Gastronomy.

“They come from cities of different creative fields as well as from several potential candidate cities in the next call for UNESCO Creative Cities Network application. We hope overseas guests could make use of this forum in Macau as a platform to forge exchanges with their Chinese counterparts,” said Tam.

Under the theme of “The Possibilities of Gastronomy and Creativity,” the forum also featured a keynote presentation by chef André Chiang, the first Chinese origin chef bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards in 2018.

The forum sessions came to an end with a National Geographic special session focused on sustainable practices of the food and beverage sector, specifically concerning food waste reduction.

Meanwhile, the Macao Government Tourism Office launched its new promotional video named “Macau designated as UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy” yesterday during the opening ceremony.

Inspired by the cinematic language of classic movie trailers, the video showcases the city’s gastronomic culture and its people and places, to depict Macau as a Creative City of Gastronomy.

For the first time this year, the International Gastronomy Forum included a Creative Cities of Gastronomy Cooking Show, where chefs from 20 different cities prepared their culinary creations. The show was open to the public.

First launched in 2016, the International Gastronomy Forum aims to be an annual gathering to provide a platform for exchange and exploration of joint initiatives between Macau and other Creative Cities of Gastronomy.  LV