3rd Corfu Food and Wine Festival begins on Monday
Food & Wine Festival
23 Sep 2021
/ 14:11
CORFU. For the first time, producers from all the Ionian Islands will be taking part.
Poetry, music and flavours can inspire a revolution will be the theme of the 3rd Corfu Food and Wine Festival from 27 September to 2 October, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution.
At the forefront will be the 'jewels' of the Ionian Islands - koum kouat and butter from Corfu, lentils from Eglouvis Lefkada, raisins and cheese products from Zakynthos and wine and oil from Cephalonia. For the first time, this year producers from all the Ionian Islands will be taking part - about 20-25 of them. The aim is to showcase the local gastronomy through the promotion of traditional products with events including presentations and tastings of products, talks and business meetings as well as cultural events, screenings of films dedicated to the life and work of Capodistrias, seminars and tele-meetings.
"The International Festival, from 27 September to 2 October, will include the in-person and online presence of countries linked to Ioannis Capodistrias, such as Greece, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, France and Austria," said the President of the non-profit organisation Ionian Inspires Spyros Stefanides. "Cities linked to hellenism will also be involved, such as New York, Boston, Melbourne, Utrecht as well as the symbolic inclusion of Brussels, based on the Governor's vision of a united Europe."
The Festival programme
At a joint press conference with all the festival organisers, Mr. Stefanides said that the events will take place in historical locations as well as in food and beverage outlets and will include evenings of pre-revolutionary poetry, dinners with recipes dating back to the 19th century, displays of local products as well as music of the period of the revolution from the Ionian Islands and Europe. Through the festival's online platform, Ionian personalities who played an important role in modern history will be highlighted, including Solomos, Foskolos, Patrikios, Lafcadio Hearn and Diamantina Roma Bauer.
"We aim to showcase our wine and food as products of Corfu culture and allow visitors to include them in the everyday life of their city and country," said Mr. Stefanides. "A pilot for this idea is a Corfu Gastronomy Festival week in Brussels at the same time as the Corfu Food and Wine Festival."
Local quality agreement
The President of the Agrifood Partnership Nikos Mouzakitis talked about the economic, social and cultural benefits of the festival and referred to the drawing up of a local quality agreement to help promote the local product brand.
"This is a collective effort to promote the good name and environment of an area. It will be an innovative method to gain a positive result through exploiting the comparative advantages of the region, whether they be known quality products or services offered - all linked to the local brand," said Mr. Mouzakitis, pointing out that an initiative such as a local quality agreement would significantly aid the creation of the "Ionian Islands Product", with its own trademark which would safeguard the quality specifications and could be adopted by a significant number of hotels and businesses.
Support
The Dean of the Ionian University Andreas Floros said that the university will provide academic support at various levels. "We can contribute to the festival with technical resources but even more so with high-level academic expertise, which is important in the support of the region in economic and social development."
Corfu Chamber of Commerce will also be involved in an effort to support the local economy and promoting organisations and businesses. "The Chamber supports the development of the primary sector and every effort to promote the region and the tourist product," said the Chamber's General Secretary Stefanos Spatoulas.
The Pressident of AOCTA (Association of Corfu Travel Agents) Spyros Halikiopoulos talked about the development of various types of alternative tourism in Corfu, saying that there is still plenty of room for growth and that gastronomy is one of the strong attractions for Corfu as a destination.
Festival organisation
The festival is being organised by Corfu Chefs Club, the non-profit organisation Ionian Inspires, Corfu Hoteliers' Association, the Ionian University, Corfu Chamber of Commerce and the Ionian Islands Regional Agrifood Partnership.
It is being held under the aegis of the Greek National Tourism Organisation, the General Secretariat of the Greek Diaspora and Public Diplomacy, Central Corfu Municipality, AOCTA and Corfu Port Authority.
At the forefront will be the 'jewels' of the Ionian Islands - koum kouat and butter from Corfu, lentils from Eglouvis Lefkada, raisins and cheese products from Zakynthos and wine and oil from Cephalonia. For the first time, this year producers from all the Ionian Islands will be taking part - about 20-25 of them. The aim is to showcase the local gastronomy through the promotion of traditional products with events including presentations and tastings of products, talks and business meetings as well as cultural events, screenings of films dedicated to the life and work of Capodistrias, seminars and tele-meetings.
"The International Festival, from 27 September to 2 October, will include the in-person and online presence of countries linked to Ioannis Capodistrias, such as Greece, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, France and Austria," said the President of the non-profit organisation Ionian Inspires Spyros Stefanides. "Cities linked to hellenism will also be involved, such as New York, Boston, Melbourne, Utrecht as well as the symbolic inclusion of Brussels, based on the Governor's vision of a united Europe."
The Festival programme
At a joint press conference with all the festival organisers, Mr. Stefanides said that the events will take place in historical locations as well as in food and beverage outlets and will include evenings of pre-revolutionary poetry, dinners with recipes dating back to the 19th century, displays of local products as well as music of the period of the revolution from the Ionian Islands and Europe. Through the festival's online platform, Ionian personalities who played an important role in modern history will be highlighted, including Solomos, Foskolos, Patrikios, Lafcadio Hearn and Diamantina Roma Bauer.
"We aim to showcase our wine and food as products of Corfu culture and allow visitors to include them in the everyday life of their city and country," said Mr. Stefanides. "A pilot for this idea is a Corfu Gastronomy Festival week in Brussels at the same time as the Corfu Food and Wine Festival."
Local quality agreement
The President of the Agrifood Partnership Nikos Mouzakitis talked about the economic, social and cultural benefits of the festival and referred to the drawing up of a local quality agreement to help promote the local product brand.
"This is a collective effort to promote the good name and environment of an area. It will be an innovative method to gain a positive result through exploiting the comparative advantages of the region, whether they be known quality products or services offered - all linked to the local brand," said Mr. Mouzakitis, pointing out that an initiative such as a local quality agreement would significantly aid the creation of the "Ionian Islands Product", with its own trademark which would safeguard the quality specifications and could be adopted by a significant number of hotels and businesses.
Support
The Dean of the Ionian University Andreas Floros said that the university will provide academic support at various levels. "We can contribute to the festival with technical resources but even more so with high-level academic expertise, which is important in the support of the region in economic and social development."
Corfu Chamber of Commerce will also be involved in an effort to support the local economy and promoting organisations and businesses. "The Chamber supports the development of the primary sector and every effort to promote the region and the tourist product," said the Chamber's General Secretary Stefanos Spatoulas.
The Pressident of AOCTA (Association of Corfu Travel Agents) Spyros Halikiopoulos talked about the development of various types of alternative tourism in Corfu, saying that there is still plenty of room for growth and that gastronomy is one of the strong attractions for Corfu as a destination.
Festival organisation
The festival is being organised by Corfu Chefs Club, the non-profit organisation Ionian Inspires, Corfu Hoteliers' Association, the Ionian University, Corfu Chamber of Commerce and the Ionian Islands Regional Agrifood Partnership.
It is being held under the aegis of the Greek National Tourism Organisation, the General Secretariat of the Greek Diaspora and Public Diplomacy, Central Corfu Municipality, AOCTA and Corfu Port Authority.
