360 Local Dishes Identified in Kermanshah to Boost Food Tourism

Kermanshah – The Kermanshah Creative City of Gastronomy Secretariat is working on programs to revive traditional foods, compile a food atlas, promote health-focused cuisine, and develop food tourism infrastructure.

According to Mehr reporter, Moin Yazdani, Focal Point and Director of the Kermanshah Creative City of Gastronomy project, on Tuesday morning in a press conference, referring to the beginning of his activity in this responsibility, stated: One of the main priorities in the new period is to increase public awareness of Kermanshah's place in the network of creative cities of gastronomy and to introduce the food capacities of the province more widely.

He stated that previous colleagues have performed significant activities in the field of external communication and participation in international events, and added: Despite these measures, people's knowledge of the Creative City of Gastronomy project is still limited and it is necessary to introduce its capacities through the media and the production of targeted content.

Yazdani pointed out that food is one of the important motivations of travel and stated: tourists usually seek to experience local cuisine and learn about the food culture of the destination in addition to visiting attractions; Therefore, the introduction of local foods can help to strengthen the tourism brand of Kermanshah.

Kermanshah Creative City of Gastronomy project manager continued: The file of this city was prepared by identifying about 130 types of food, and after going through the evaluation process, the title of Creative City of Gastronomy was assigned to Kermanshah in 2021. The plaque installation ceremony of this title was also held on July 18, 1401. Now the number of identified feeds in the province has reached 360.

He named the three main axes of the activities of the new period as the revival of old foods in restaurants, creating creativity in the way of cooking and presenting food, and paying attention to health in the chain of food preparation and supply, and said: This capacity is not limited to the main foods and includes sweets, sherbets, teas, appetizers and other local products.

Yazdani, referring to the program for compiling the food atlas of Kermanshah, said: the information of the identified foods is being collected and their photography is also being done. In this atlas, about 200 main foods will be presented with introductions and visual documentation, and its version will be prepared in Farsi, English and possibly Arabic languages ​​to be used to introduce the capacities of the province at the international level and send it to the UNESCO World Organization.

In another part of his speech, he mentioned programs related to food health and added: It has been agreed with a number of active restaurants to put the use of wholemeal flour on the agenda in the preparation of bread used for food such as kebabs, pizzas and hamburgers. The goal is that this action will gradually expand and become a part of the health-oriented approach in the supply of food in Kermanshah.

The manager of Kermanshah Creative Gastronomy City project noted: In order to follow up on this issue, correspondence has been conducted with the Governorate, University of Medical Sciences, Food and Drug Department, Agricultural Jihad and Grain Department to propose the use of wholemeal flour in the Flour and Bread Council and to provide the basis for expert supervision of its implementation.

Yazdani also announced plans to train restaurants in the field of cooking traditional dishes, ceremonies and food presentation and said: In the first phase, 10 restaurants have been considered as pilots. The review and selection of eligible collections continues and after the finalization of the list, training will begin so that the traditional dishes of Kermanshah will be included in the menu of these restaurants.

He added: The use of the emblem of the creative city of gastronomy in the signs and the introduction of these restaurants in the media platforms are also among the planned plans. It is also supposed to monitor the quality of food, the observance of health principles and the way products are supplied on a monthly or seasonal basis so that the participating collections can provide their services in a specific framework.

Referring to the media programs of this series, the director of Kermanshah Food Science Creative City said: Consultations are underway to produce a TV series about Kermanshah foods. If the agreement with the target network is finalized, cooking and introduction of native dishes of the province will be taught in 10 episodes. Also, the design of special uniforms for the chefs of the secretariat using symbols related to Kermanshah and the creative city of gastronomy is in progress.

Yazdani announced the holding of a program on the occasion of World Food Day on Thursday and said: This program will be held in collaboration with the University of Medical Sciences, Standard, Agricultural Jihad, Department of Grain and House of Industry, Mining and Trade, and the topic of wholemeal flour and wholemeal bread will be one of its main axes. According to him, the presence of the Deputy Minister of Health and the representative of the UNESCO National Commission is also planned for this program.

Referring to the development plans of Kermanshah Creative City of Gastronomy, he added: Studies related to the creation of food village and food passage have been done in the past, and if investors are attracted, the steps of developing an executive plan and then selecting a contractor will be followed.

The manager of Kermanshah Creative City of Gastronomy project listed the organization of urban signs and the design of packaging of local products from other programs and clarified: a call for proposals related to the entrances of the city and urban spaces has been prepared in order to select designs that fit the culture and rituals of Kermanshah and the identity of the creative city of gastronomy.

In the end, Yazdani said: Designing appropriate packaging for products such as Bezhi Barsaq and local sweets is also in the plan so that local products can be presented with a more specific visual identity and tourists can purchase them as part of Kermanshah souvenirs.