Chefs from Belarus, Latvia, and Sweden will compete in a culinary showdown

June 22, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. A culinary competition of chefs from Polotsk, Vitebsk, Disna, Daugavpils (Latvia) and Gotland (Sweden) will be held in Polotsk at the seminar on the development of tourism and tourist infrastructure of the region "Panorama Dvina/Daugava," Igor Zagrekov, chief specialist of the Department of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Polotsk City Executive Committee, told a BELTA correspondent. The seminar will be held in Polotsk on June 25-26. Representatives of authorities, tourism companies and enterprises from Polotsk, Vitebsk, Disna, Daugavpils, Gotland – regions participating in the joint Belarusian-Latvian-Swedish project "Panorama Dvina/Daugava" – will take part in its work. Chefs from restaurants and cafes will participate in the culinary competition, demonstrating their skills in preparing national dishes, and the seminar participants will determine the winners. However, the main goal of this competition is to consider the possibility of creating a culinary route in the Vitebsk region and to discuss the possibility of organizing joint culinary events with Swedish and Latvian colleagues. According to Igor Zagrekov, culinary tourism is well-developed and very popular in Sweden. In 1998, Sweden became one of the founders of the European Culinary Heritage Network, created to enable tourists to easily try national dishes from different regions of the continent. Currently, more than 20 regions participate in the network's activities. The involvement of Belarusian territories in it will be considered at the seminar. Another topic for discussion will be the creation of a new form of tourism product promotion for Belarus – tourist information centers, and their role in the development and coordination of the region's tourism industry. During the round table, seminar participants will consider the opportunities and prospects of the Vitebsk region for improving tourist infrastructure and creating an attractive image of the region. -0-