Riviera Nayarit is hosting the International Gourmet Festival for the second time in Tepic and San Blas
- Attracting tourism through gastronomy is one of the main goals of this event, which is now in its 17th edition
The International Gourmet Festival (IGF) Puerto Vallarta-Riviera Nayarit will be in Tepic and San Blas, and will introduce two great chefs: Marta Zepeda, who will be at Emiliano Restaurant with the best of the cuisine of Chiapas, and Lucero Soto, who will visit El Delfin Restaurant at Garza Canela Hotel in San Blas to introduce the delicacies of Michoacán.
The Gourmet Festival has been successfully taking place in Bahia de Banderas for 17 years. Thierry Blouet, Heinz Reize and Roland Menetrey are the founders of the Festival and icons of the culinary scene, and they explained that just like every year, the Festival will assemble chefs from around the world, who will exchange ideas with local chefs, while visitors enjoy their creations and even learn some of their secrets.
This year there’ll be 15 participating restaurants in Riviera Nayarit: Emiliano in Tepic, Frascati in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Porto Bello, Nicksan and Santa Marea in Nuevo Vallarta, El Delfín at Hotel Garza Canela in San Blas, El Patio at Dreams Villamagna, Epazote at Grand Luxxe, La Casona at Villa La Estancia, Sea Breeze at St Regis, Frida at Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, Café des Artistes del Mar at Hotel des Artistes, and La Tranquila Green Bistro Gourmet Cuisine, as well as Omaggio and Insu at Marival Residences.
The IGF will add new perspectives to the original concept, like an opening event in downtown Puerto Vallarta rescuing the traditions of the region, a culinary symposium for gastronomy students at the Universidad Tecnologica de Bahia de Banderas, and a Star Chefs Night at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, where eight chefs will prepare a wonderful dinner while guests enjoy live music. Tepic has also prepared an intense program of activities with its guest chef.
One of the main strategies promoted by the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Riviera Nayarit is to attract tourists through gastronomy. The flavors and aromas that characterize our region can increase the number of visitors and link the touristic activity with farmers, creating cooperation chains between different productive sectors, generating wellness for everyone, following the guidelines defined by the State Government headed by Roberto Sandoval.
To learn about the general program and guest chefs for all 29 participating restaurants, visit www.festivalgourmet.com
About the International Gourmet Festival
At a casual dinner, Thierry Blouet of Café des Artistes, Heinz Reize of Hotel Kristal and Sivan Müller of Nestlé Mexico enjoyed talking about their favorite topics: food, tourism and Mexico. That conversation led to the creation of the first Gourmet Festival, which took place eight months later, with the idea of revitalizing the local culinary creativity and starting an international gastronomic movement with the participation of six five star hotels and six independent restaurants. There were 12 invited chefs back then, and this established a pattern that continues today: having a guest chef for each restaurant.
November is a month with pleasant weather, but visitors to the winter season are still not here, so the IGF has become a big boost to the local economy. Its impact on tourism is irrefutable, as it’s generated a considerable increase in hotel occupancy since its creation. In Riviera Nayarit the number of participating restaurants has increased every year; currently, out of 29 restaurants, 15 are located in Nayarit, including Emiliano in Tepic and El Delfin in San Blas.
About the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Riviera Nayarit
The Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) of Riviera Nayarit is a civil non-profit association dedicated to promoting tourism on the coast of Nayarit, from its southern border with Jalisco in Nuevo Vallarta to Novillero, next to bordering Sinaloa on the North. The CVB was created by the Association of Hotels and Motels of Bahia de Banderas to serve the private sector, and today encompasses the Hotel and Motel Association de Compostela and San Blas, and works together with the Federal, State and City governments to attract visitors to this region and to actively participate in the design and implementation of promotional activities that increase the number of tourists in our region.
About chef Marta Zepeda
Marta is in love with the cuisine of Chiapas, the state where she was born. Young, restless and devoted to her passion for the cuisine of Chiapas, she has dedicated her creativity to developing a novel cuisine that blends ancestral traditions with the modern world.
About chef Soto Lucero
Lucero is the owner of Lu: Cocina Michoacana restaurant, as well as Tradicion e Innovacion in Morelia. She is also manager of the food and drink department for the Turotel hotels in Michoacan, Guanajuato and Queretaro. Lucero Soto began her culinary career following her nanny Tata and Santitos. Later on, she studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and at the Culinary Association of Mexico, among other prestigious institutions. Her work in the preservation of the traditional cuisine of Michoacán was integrated in the document that led to the inclusion of Traditional Mexican Cuisine to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.
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