Galway Gastronomy

Galway European Region of Gastronomy 2018

In 2018 Galway will become a European Region of Gastronomy and will be the first region in Ireland to be awarded the honour of this designation. The official award ceremony was held in Aarhus, Central Denmark in August 2016 at the IFAMA (International Food and Agribusiness Management Association) conference, with the presentation made by Phil Hogan, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development and Dr. Diane Dodd, President of IGCAT. The European Region of Gastronomy designation for 2018 provides Galway with a great opportunity to further enhance its existing reputation as a top food destination and source of high quality food both nationally and internationally.

In recent years Galway has established itself as a centre for fine dining in the West of Ireland, with two Michelin star restaurants and a wide range of other fine restaurants using high quality locally sourced produce. The quality of food and hospitality combined with the rich cultural heritage and beauty of the city and county makes the region one of the most popular tourist destinations in Ireland. The award aims to strengthen the existing focus on the Food; Agriculture; Tourism; Marine; Creative and Arts sectors in the region through collaboration between a wide range of stakeholders from the general public, private, educational institutions and community & voluntary sectors. Five key focus areas for Galway were agreed for the programme entitled ‘From the Ground Up Feeding our Future’ and these are Education and Health; Linking Urban / Rural; Cultural Diversity; Sustainability and Feeding the Planet; Supporting SMEs and Innovation.

Although the designation is for the calendar year 2018 and will comprise of a yearlong programme of events of all types, work is already underway to deliver projects that will support the key focus areas and have a lasting legacy.

In 2018 Galway, the West of Ireland will share the honour of this title with North Brabant in the Netherlands and both regions will use the award year to work collaboratively on a number of projects and work with the other regions in the European Region of Gastronomy platform.

Details of events planned will be published here and on the Galway Gastronomy website in due course.

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