European Region of Gastronomy

The European Region of Gastronomy is a title given every year to one or more cities or regions in Europe. The title is awarded by the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism (IGCAT).[1][2]

For the year 2026, the title was awarded to the regions of Crete (Greece) and Kvarner (Croatia), highlighting their commitment to sustainable tourism and local food heritage.[3][4]

Braga, Minho, Portugal (2016)
Riga, Latvia (2017)
Galway, Ireland (2018)
Sibiu, Romania (2019)
Kuopio, Finland (2020)

Goals

The goal of the project is to contribute to the better quality of life by:

  • raising awareness about the importance of cultural and food uniqueness
  • stimulating creativity and gastronomic innovation
  • educating for better nutrition
  • improving sustainable tourism standards
  • highlighting distinctive food cultures
  • strengthening community well-being and supporting local SMEs [1]

List of European Regions of Gastronomy

European Regions of Gastronomy
YearCity/RegionCountryNotesLinks
2016Minho PortugalMinho 2016
Catalonia SpainCatalonia 2016
2017Riga, Gauja LatviaRiga-Gauja 2017
East Lombardy ItalyEast Lombardy 2017
Aarhus, Central Denmark DenmarkAarhus-Central Denmark 2017
2018North Brabant NetherlandsNorth Brabant 2018
Galway, Western Ireland IrelandGalway was also named the European Capital of Culture for 2020Galway-West of Ireland 2018
2019Sibiu RomaniaThe Transylvanian town was also the European Capital of Culture in 2007Sibiu 2019
South Aegean GreeceSouth Aegean 2019
2020Kuopio FinlandAlso counts for 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemicKuopio 2020-2021
2021Coimbra PortugalAlso counts for 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemicCoimbra 2021
Slovenia SloveniaThe only country to have been included as a whole so farSlovenia 2021
2022Trondheim, Trøndelag NorwayTrondheim-Trøndelag 2022
Menorca SpainMenorca 2022
2023Hauts-de-France FranceHauts-de-France 2023
2024Saimaa lake region FinlandSaimaa 2024
2025 Sicily Italy Sicily 2025
2026 Crete Greece Crete 2026
Kvarner Croatia Kvarner 2026

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "European Region of Gastronomy – official Website".
  2. ↑ "International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism (IGCAT)".
  3. ↑ Kokkinidis, Tasos (2025-07-02). "Crete Crowned European Region of Gastronomy 2026 - GreekReporter.com". GreekReporter.com. Archived from the original on 2025-11-22. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
  4. ↑ "European Region of Gastronomy 2026 | Visit Kvarner". Retrieved 2026-01-05.
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