As people become more conscious of food issues, the term “Food Town” has gained much currency with a number of places using it to try and attract more visitors. But how many people really understand what a food town is or have a clear idea of what they can expect to find in one? And how does a visitor know what criteria a place has used when calling itself a Food Town? What’s to stop anywhere in the UK calling itself a Food Town with little real justification?
One way to be a genuine Food Town is to be part of an international network of over 100 European towns where good quality food, local produce and traditional production methods are at the heart of ensuring the highest possible quality of visitor experience.
That network grew out of the Slow Food movement and is called Cittaslow - Italian for “Slow Cities”. Perth is now striving to become the first Scottish town to join it.
Cittaslow aims to encourage everyone – residents and visitors alike - to experience healthy eating and healthy living through good food, quality hospitality, the protection and enhancement of the natural and built environment, and the promotion of quality local producers and traditional production values.
To date, three English towns and one Welsh town have joined the Cittaslow network and a Perth is bidding to become the first Scottish Cittaslow town.
Every town that applies to join Cittaslow has to meet over 60 different criteria that are grouped under 6 main headings –
- Environment policies.
- Infrastructure policies.
- Enhancing the quality of the urban fabric.
- Celebrating and promoting local produce and local products.
- Hospitality and awareness.
- Communicating awareness and understanding of Cittaslow.
Perth hopes to be approved for membership of Cittaslow by Spring 2007. A local Steering Group has been set up to drive this application forward with VisitScotland Perth a member of this group.
In conjunction with Perth’s application to become Scotland’s first Cittaslow town, Perth & Kinross also applied to become the first officially recognised Cittaslow Supporter in the UK.
Full membership of Cittaslow is only open to individual towns, but in Europe larger regions and companies have shown their commitment to the Cittaslow principles by becoming Cittaslow Supporters. This model has now been extended to the UK, where Perth & Kinross has just been recognised as the country’s first Cittaslow Supporter.
Both of these applications are supported by Perth & Kinross Council and Scottish Enterprise Tayside, and we are convinced that Cittaslow recognition will provide us new opportunities to promote Perthshire as a distinctive quality destination where visitors can expect good food, excellent hospitality and unspoilt environments.
If you would like more information about Cittaslow, please contact Douglas Ritchie, the Perth & Kinross Cittaslow Project Manager, at douglas@tals.co.uk.
