Local governement's initiative Sabor a Mendoza declares the province a gourmet capital. Gwynne Hogan investigates what that might mean.
Mendoza could be set for gourmet greatness after a new initiative to promote the state as a gastronomy capital. Mendoza's Secretary of Tourism launched its "Sabor a Mendoza" [Taste of Mendoza] initiative aimed to establish the province as a gourmet capital within Argentina on 3rd October. With the help of the Association for Hotels and Gastronomy of Mendoza and the Mendoza's Association of Olive Oil Production, the project aims highlight four pillars of Mendocinian cuisine that they feel will help convert Mendoza into a magnet for gastronomic tourism: extra virgin olive oils, fruits and vegetables, regional cuisine, and lastly baby goat and trout.
The second component listed—fruits and vegetables—makes up a sub-program called "365 Temptations" aimed to educate the public on the nutritional facts of local produce as well as healthy recipes for using them. A borage of glossy pamphlets that circulated the noisy gathering will presumably be published in local newspaper Diario de los Andes. Each installment offers informative facts and six recipes that focus on one ingredient or one color family of ingredients [aka tomatoes, strawberries, red pepper etc]. Although Mendoza may not boast anything near 365 varieties of fruit or vegetable, the idea of the campaign is that the fruit and veg it does produce is available almost every day of the year.
The head of each of the institutions involved offered the crowd a few words on their interpretation of the significance of Sabor a Mendoza. According to Secretary of Tourism Luis Böhm two of the goals of the program are "to solidify a culture of gastronomy and to promote a healthy population." Having a unified gastronomic identity will supposedly then translate into increased tourism for the province.
Armando Mansur, head of Mendoza's Olive Oil Association expressed one of the more focused goals of the agenda declaring that, "Every table in every hotel and restaurant in Mendoza will be set with an extra virgin olive oil certified by the Association. The idea is to uniformly present quality to the tourist." It later emerged in an informative video that part of this assurance of quality involves comprehensive training for waiters and chefs about olive oil tasting.
After signing the official document that would put these initiatives underway, Raúl Mercau, Mendoza's Minister of Production, Technology and Innovation, offered his reflections about the metaphorical ramifications of such an agreement. Sabor a Mendoza is about, "the importance of teamwork between the public and the private sector. The idea is to be able to work together so we can show the tourist the best of ourselves. It's not only what they have physically before them, [referring to a dish or beverage] it's something much more important." As no specific schedule for its events or training sessions were provided, it remains to be seen exactly how or when Sabor a Mendoza will accomplish its lofty mission. This is perhaps the benefit of open-ended goals, who's to say they haven't already been fulfilled?
• Photo shows: Raúl Millán (subsecretario de Programación Agroalimentaria y Gestión de calidad MZA), Armando Mansur (presidente de ASOLMEN), ministro Raúl Mercau (ministerio de Producción, Teconología e Innovación MZA), Luis Böhm (secretario de Turismo) y Tito Sottano (presidente de AEHGA).
