FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is meant by ‘Gastronomy’– does this mean only high-end cuisine?
‘Gastronomy’ here is used to refer to a holistic approach, which includes agriculture and food culture relating to place, hospitality, eating, food production, food ways, food traditions and how one feels about one’s food culture. The term does not denote exclusivity or high-end cuisine.
What is meant by ‘Region’ – who can apply?
A ‘Region’ can be a province, county, country, and/or other territory defined by the partner presenting the bid. It is important that the territory chosen has the support of at least three municipalities and their surrounding rural areas, and that it is able to gain support from multiple academic, third sector, public and private partners.
Is the Award a competition?
No, it is not a competition. The World Region of Gastronomy title is awarded to regions that have joined the World Region of Gastronomy Platform and adhere to the philosophy developed by IGCAT (International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism) that ensures cross-sector working in order to support regional development.
Unlike other awards, only regions that join the Platform can be awarded the title, and joining the Platform requires a series of policy-actions, such as a Regional Stakeholder Committee made up of public, private, third sector and knowledge institutions. By joining the knowledge-exchange Platform, the aim is to further cross-border collaborations, develop shared initiatives to improve food awareness and provide both external and internal regional visibility.
Once in the Platform, the regions work toward having the conditions required to hold the title. Depending on where the region is in the process, this can take several years of hard work.
What are the starting and end dates if we bid for the World Region of Gastronomy title – is it a full year of activities starting in January?
Since the World Region of Gastronomy is a bottom-up initiative, the regions will decide the starting time of the events of their World Region of Gastronomy year according to their schedule.
However, they will host at least three flagship events to fully involve their citizens throughout the awarded year, including a World Gastronomy Summit in collaboration with IGCAT.
How many regions can apply at any given time?
The World Region of Gastronomy Award raises interest across many regions around the world and as such IGCAT and IGCAT Experts maintain conversations with many nominated and candidate regions while they grow a stakeholder group and develop their bid. Each year the title can be given to up to 2 regions (unless exceptional circumstances), provided that they are ready to hold it, meet IGCAT’s criteria and comply with all the requirements of the Award. Since our philosophy is to nurture regions, the Secretariat will only put forward a candidate region for assessment by an independent jury once they have a good chance of a successful outcome.
In general, there is a requirement of a 3-year gap between regions from the same country, unless exceptional circumstances warrant otherwise.
What happens if more regions apply for the Award?
IGCAT will advise the regions as to when they are ready to apply for the Award and only then a panel of independent experts will travel to the region not only to assess their candidacy but to provide recommendations and ideas. IGCAT Secretariat will only recommend a region to submit an application if they feel the region is ready to take on the challenge.
When does a region become a candidate for the Award?
Building a stakeholder group takes time and we fully recommend getting involved in the Platform as a nominated / candidate region as soon as possible in the process. Nominations can be made by an IGCAT Expert at any time, and from this point, we can invite you to up to two meetings or events as an observer region and this is intended to help strengthen your bid. Nevertheless, ideally, aspiring World Regions of Gastronomy should officially join the Platform as soon as possible to receive the full benefits of IGCAT secretariat support as a candidate region. Only candidate members of the Platform can be put forward for the title.
Can IGCAT Experts nominate and be part of the jury?
The simple answer is no, an IGCAT expert cannot have both roles. Any IGCAT expert can nominate, support a region in joining the Platform as a candidate, and/or provide consultancy support to regions in developing their bid. This is all undertaken either voluntarily or in private contracts between the region and the expert. Only independent experts can take part in the jury visit, and they must be able to sign a ‘no conflict of interest’ clause. Independent experts taking part in the jury visit are offered a fee from IGCAT for their report – some experts prefer to waive this fee either because they are already salaried or because they prefer the money to support lesser-economically developed regions in which case the monies are accumulated in the FLAG fund for the World Regions of Gastronomy Foundation.
What is the title that will be awarded?
The awarded title will be ‘[WORLD REGION OF GASTRONOMY – [REGION NAME] – AWARDED [YEAR]’. The title can be used as a long-term legacy of the event (awarded since) as long as the region continues as an active member of the Platform.
What happens if a region fails to pay the annual membership fee?
To remain an active member of the Platform, annual reports, annual membership fee, participation in joint projects and an Executive Manager to coordinate with IGCAT are required. If a region does not pay the membership fee within the first six months of each year, IGCAT will notify the region that it will no longer be able to participate fully in Platform events:
- Participation in Platform meetings will be restricted to fully paid members.
- Participation in joint projects will also be sanctioned accordingly if membership payments are not received by the registration deadline.
If a region is not active and/or skips payment for a full year, the region must then reapply with all the bidding costs that this would imply.
In the interest of maintaining activities in the region and supporting knowledge-sharing across the Platform, IGCAT may allow one or more approved IGCAT experts from the region to attend meetings and individual institutions to join paying the relevant membership fee. However, only experts and representatives from fully paid regions have the right to vote. IGCAT will continue to work with approved IGCAT experts and/or paying stakeholder institutions in order to support the legacy and possible re-entry of the region in the future.
What happens after a region has held the title of World Region of Gastronomy?
The awarded region is required to complete its minimum 5-year commitment to the World Region of Gastronomy Platform. However, many regions chose to stay in the Platform and continue to develop the Award’s legacy. By choosing to remain in the Platform beyond the year of their title, the region retains the right to continue to use the title.
What are the required Events?
Each region is expected to:
- Host an Award Ceremony, an Opening Event, a World Gastronomy Summit and a legacy event.
- The World Gastronomy Summit is a key flagship project to engage international experts and local stakeholders in wider discussions about our food future and is developed together with IGCAT.
- Flagship events should be organised throughout the award year to encourage citizens to discuss their food future. These are important in building awareness about the importance of protecting and promoting food and cultural diversity. These may be adaptations of existing events but should involve multiple sectors and stakeholders (preferably doing something new or different for the Award year).
What are the Budget considerations?
Regions should allocate a budget to:
- Attend Platform meetings in other regions across the globe from entry into the Platform and for a minimum five year period.
- Participate in joint projects, such as:
- Food Film Menu (free to participate).
- World Food Gift Challenge (registration fee: €1,800).
- Top Websites for Foodie Travelers (free to participate).
Beyond registration costs (where applicable), regions must also consider expenses for local projects (e.g., candidate/finalist selection), international travel, and accommodations.
Who owns the Brand and how to Use it
IGCAT owns the internationally registered brand World Region of Gastronomy.
- Fully paid members are granted the rights to use the logo along with their name and candidate or award year.
- This is formalized through a contractual agreement, as the primary goal is to maximize visibility—locally, nationally, and internationally.
- We encourage event organizers, food producers, restaurants, and hotels to use the logo as a tool to promote sustainable practices through a commitment to responsible business operations.
