City of Gastronomy

Criteria for Cities of Gastronomy

To be approved as a City of Gastronomy, cities need to meet a number of criteria set by UNESCO:

• Well-developed gastronomy that is characteristic of the urban centre and/or region;
• Vibrant gastronomy community with numerous traditional restaurants and/or chefs;
• Indigenous ingredients used in traditional cooking;
• Local know-how, traditional culinary practices and methods of cooking that have survived industrial/technological advancement;
• Traditional food markets and traditional food industry;
• Tradition of hosting gastronomic festivals, awards, contests and other broadly-targeted means of recognition;
• Respect for the environment and promotion of sustainable local products;
• Nurturing of public appreciation, promotion of nutrition in educational institutions and inclusion of biodiversity conservation programmes in cooking schools curricula.

Cities submit bids to UNESCO to be designated, with a review every four years.