Culinary festival promoting locally-sourced food expands beyond Medicine Hat

It got underway on Friday and runs until Nov. 21.

Jace Anderson, executive director of Tourism Medicine Hat, hopes the campaign will inspire other restaurants to source locally.

Kevin Kyle/CHAT News

“We want to help lift their business in a way that helps them grow and differentiate themselves, perhaps against another restaurant that doesn’t source locally,” Anderson said.

”I love the fact that at the heart of this farm to fork conversation, it becomes a product of relationship.”

Tourism Medicine Hat is welcoming any restaurant that would like to feature a locally-sourced menu item.

If there are restaurants that haven’t signed up yet, and they want to reach out to Tourism Medicine Hat, Anderson said they’d be happy to make space for them in their campaign as well, even after it begins.

“We’re partnering with restaurants all the way along Highway 3,” Anderson said.

“We’re partnering with the destinations, the communities, the tourism operators, and the restaurants and the regional producers as well,” he added.

“The entire region of southern Alberta can celebrate the good menu, the good meal, and the taste of the place, which is really important, particularly from a tourism perspective.”

Anderson explained that the feature premise of the campaign is an opportunity to celebrate “farm-to-fork”, locally sourced menu items.

As for who is invited to participate, whether that be an established franchise or a single location independent operator in the community, every type of business is welcome.

“It’s really an opportunity for us to get together to celebrate the region and how good the process can be and the value from a marketing perspective, both for the locals and for visitors when we’re inviting people to spend some time in the community, whether it’s for leisure or business or otherwise.”

Anderson said that being a producer is hard work, and is often a thankless job. Many restaurants don’t have a relationship with who they source from, because it is often not the case that the two are located in the same area, let alone communicate outside of a business sense.

“When other people see value in that and want to feature that and celebrate that in the menus within their restaurants. I would take that as a real warm pat on the back and a nod,” he said.

“It helps to reaffirm and encourage me that the space that I’m working in is appreciated and folks are getting excited about it. So I would imagine that there’s a pretty good feeling in that interplay between producer and restaurant participant and partner.”

To find out more, and how to involve a restaurant in the festival, visit the website at Savour Alberta’s South or contact Tourism Medicine Hat. There is no deadline to apply.

by Jayk Sterkenburg

Culinary festival promoting locally-sourced food expands beyond Medicine Hat

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