Gastro Batumi: forum, master classes, cuisine tours hosted in 3-day event in Black Sea city

Georgia’s Black Sea city of Batumi this week hosted Gastro Batumi, the first international forum on gastronomy in the city, bringing together French, Belgian and Latvian restaurant chefs and restaurateurs of venues with Michelin star ratings, with Turkish and Georgian speakers discussing trends and challenges of gastronomy tourism.

The Department of Tourism and Resorts of western Georgia’s Adjara region said the event aimed to contribute to development of gastronomic tourism in the region and enabled participants to share international experience. 

The first day of the forum discussed the role of education in the development of gastronomy, the function of gastronomy in resort development, and the importance of industry conferences. It also hosted culinary experiments by chefs and competitions.

Day two and third involved culinary master classes where visiting chefs demonstrated fish, meat and sauce preparation for their domestic counterparts, the Department said.

Stéphane Jakić, a chef-instructor at Ferrandi Paris cooking school from France, prepared a varied menu of fish products and introduced local chefs to their preparation techniques. Chef Ilhan Onay completed a series of master classes sharing meat preparation techniques and his years of experience. 

As part of the event, a tour saw participants visit the regional capital of Batumi and take part in master classes of authentic Adjarian regional dishes. They were also introduced to traditional local winemaking methods.

The visiting chefs also had the opportunity to learn the history of Georgian wine and folk performing arts, were involved in the tangerine harvest and tasted food and desserts prepared using the citrus.

The forum also featured the executive chef of Paloma Finesse hotels from Turkey, Georgian chefs and restaurateurs Giorgi Ninua and Guram Bagdoshvili, and gastronomy researcher and expert Dalila Tsatava as speakers.