The festival was launched by Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat and Phuket City Mayor Saroj Angkanapilas. Representatives from relevant government offices and local administrations attended the opening ceremony before joining the crowd in tasting the offerings.
The festival, running from May 10 through May 14, opens to visitors from 5pm. Local residents and foreign tourists are invited to savour Phuket’s signature dishes, as well as all-time Thai favourites with a Phuket twist.
Serving the public is an impressive array of over 182 dining establishments and 11 food truck stations. The dining experience is complemented by music performances and a cooking battle between chefs from Phuket and Trang.
Delegates of the UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy Annual Conference 2024 have a special program at the Courtyard by Marriott. Although the conference began on May 9, the official opening was held today (May 11) at 9.30am.
Deputy Minister of Interior Chada Thaiseth presided over the opening ceremony and gave a special lecture on the topic of food evolution under various cultural influences.
The official theme of the conference is “From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Unlocking the Creative Potential of Local Food into Sustainable Food Practices.”
Representatives of Creative Cities of Gastronomy from around the world collaborate on using creativity as a tool for development in economic, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions, according to a report by the Phuket office of the Department of Public Relations (PR Phuket).
“Participants share their experience, knowledge, and case studies on how to promote creative and cultural industries, specifically the food culture, to become key drivers of sustainable city development and jointly drive the cities to achieve the goals of the 2023 Sustainable Development Agenda according to the mission of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network,” PR Phuket reports.
Phuket was designated a City of Gastronomy under UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in 2015, becoming the first city in Thailand and ASEAN to join 18 cities worldwide recognized with this distinction.
There are currently over 50 cities around the world bestowed with the ‘City of Gastronomy’ status. In 2021, the province of Phetchaburi became Thailand’s second City of Gastronomy.