Seminars on Food Tourism and Gastronomy with Dr. Cinthia Meneguel of Universitat de Girona
On June 21, 2023, the UPAIT administration hosted a lunch to welcome Dr. Cinthia Meneguel of the Universitat de Girona. During the said lunch, professors, REPS, and staff of UPAIT had a chance to talk with Dr. Meneguel.
On the same day, the hybrid seminar on Territorial dynamism through Cultural Gastronomic Tourism was held. Dr. Meneguel imparted her expertise in gastronomy. “Tourist motivations are a key element in designing and creating products of gastronomic tourism with strong cultural and social needs,” she said during her talk. The seminar’s reactor, Liza Hernandez-Morales, Director of Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Ateneo de Manila, mentioned that there is a lot of interest in food, and people travel for food, culture, social interaction, and authentic experiences. The face-to-face and online participants addressed questions to Dr. Meneguel and Director Hernandez-Morales.
After the seminar, the UPAIT administration, led by Dr. Maria Criselda Badilla and Asst. Prof. Maria Carmela Ibanez toured Dr. Meneguel around the UP Diliman Campus. Famous Filipino street foods like kwek-kwek, fishball, squidball, taho, and sorbetes were also offered to Dr. Meneguel. After the tour, Dean Legaspi accompanied Dr. Meneguel to attend the evening cocktail reception for International Students and Faculty hosted by the UPD Chancellor.
The hybrid seminar on Food Tourism as an Identity Marker and Tool for Nation-Building happened the next day, June 22, 2023. Dr. Meneguel’s discussion outlined the steps that must be taken to promote the recognition of local gastronomy as cultural heritage. Dr. Ramon Benedicto Alampay, UP AIT associate professor and the seminar’s reactor, stated that the Philippines has not yet valorized our food and intangible cultural heritage as well or to the same level as the country cases shared by Dr. Meneguel. Attendees from UPAIT and the Zoom meeting were highly engaged by addressing questions to Dr. Meneguel and Dr. Alampay.
The UPAIT would like to thank Dr. Meneguel, Director Hernandez-Morales, and Dr. Alampay for imparting their knowledge on gastronomy and food tourism. We would also like to thank the participants for joining us in the 2-day seminar series of Dr. Meneguel.
The UPAIT pledges its continuous partnerships with foreign universities to further its efforts at internalization and collaborative research.