By Natasha Jee & Neville Timothy Sanders
KUCHING: Sarawak will hold its first-ever homegrown culinary conference ‘Engage and Taste (EAT): Taste of Borneo Conference’ at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) on Oct 14 to 16.
Deputy Minister for Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Snowdan Lawan, said the business event that focuses on food, will not only bring in visitors to enjoy and experience our Sarawak hospitality, but it will also be a catalyst for our gastronomy sector in the future.
“The theme for this first year is ‘Innovate, Elevate, Celebrate’. Through the two years of the pandemic, we have all seen the importance of innovation in our industries, both traditional and modern.
“But this is just the start. We must push that innovation forward as we open up and what better way than to share experience to find more creative solutions.
“Therefore, we hope this conference will expose the delegates to some of the key trends in the industry today, inspiring innovation and embedding an elevated offering, both for our domestic market in this important creative industry and for our visitors as they return,” he said at the EAT: Taste of Borneo Conference launching dinner at BCCK last night.
This is the right time to hold the conference as UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) has designated Kuching as the Creative Gastronomy City in their network, the first city in Malaysia to be listed on the network, the Balai Ringin assemblyman pointed out.
“This is also why we are supporting this conference. Not only will it celebrate Kuching’s achievement in being recognised, but this conference will see how we can take our gastronomy sector into the future, creatively and sustainably, through innovation, elevation and celebration,” said Snowdan.
Meanwhile, the conference is organised by the Kuching Chef Association (KCA) in collaboration with BCCK and Arc Creators. It is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak and Business Event Sarawak (BESarawak).
The ‘innovate’ track will focus on promoting the innovation in food and beverage (f&b) businesses, with a particular focus in developing Sarawak’s Food Basket 2030.
The conference will also share insights on market trends, plant-based meat usage, sustainability, and more importantly, how to innovate through city farming.
While ‘Elevate’ emphasises on experiences through dining by mixing culinary, storytelling and technology, industry experts will deep dive into the secrets formula and behind the scenes of some successful elevated dining experiences.
Lastly, ‘Celebrate’ will be highlighting how gastronomy can be used to drive tourism growth, and how culinary awards can help promote a city’s gastronomic culture.
To be part of Sarawak’s first ever homegrown culinary conference, one can reserve a spot by visiting their website at www.eatconference.com.
Or for more information, email to the secretariat team at hello@eatconference.com.
