Taste the Countryside
Woolwich is the largest of the four townships within the Waterloo Region. Like the other townships, Woolwich is primarily a rural community with a vast agricultural sector. Recently, Woolwich partnered with the other three townships to create an annual event called “Taste the Countryside” to promote local agri-tourism throughout the region. This event features three key components: a local fall Harvest Dinner prepared by prominent chefs, a 10-Day Dining Event at local restaurants using local ingredients, and a physical/virtual Waterloo Region Food Map to guide residents and visitors to local food producers and suppliers.
The purpose of the event is to attract visitors to the region, unite the four townships, foster lasting collaborations between food suppliers and producers, and incentivize food suppliers to buy locally produced food. These steps aim to create a sustainable community and economy. Additionally, the event addresses climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through decreased transportation and vehicle use.
Initially, we faced challenges with getting buy-in from food suppliers who were accustomed to purchasing their products in a certain way and unaware of where to buy local ingredients. We educated them about various local producers, resulting in natural collaborations and creative business concepts.
This past year, the Harvest Dinner was hosted by Chef Duff at Riversong, a prominent local restaurant set in the picturesque countryside with a river running along its borders. Chef Duff and a local team of chefs prepared all the food using local ingredients right in front of the patrons. The attendees included local tourists, residents, influencers, politicians, artists, and musicians, creating a significant impact within the community and kicking off the event. The Harvest Dinner consistently sells out, as it did this past year.
The 10-Day Dining Event saw participation from 26 restaurants and food suppliers, a 50% increase from the previous year. The event attracts new clientele seeking unique dining experiences. Many restaurants have participated since the first year, benefiting from free publicity and new customers. The event boasts a 95% satisfaction rate among participating restaurants.
Although it is hard to track the impact of the Food Map, as physical copies are distributed throughout the community, many food suppliers appreciate having it in their stores, and we frequently send boxes of maps to local townships, municipal community centers, and tourism destinations.
Despite initial challenges with getting buy-in from food suppliers, the education about local producers led to natural collaborations and creative business concepts. The success of the 10-Day Dining Event, with a record number of 26 businesses participating, proved that we were on the right track.
“Taste the Countryside” has proven very effective, now in its fourth year. Our target audience is primarily visitors from outside the local area, aged 35 to 64, with disposable income and a desire to try new experiences. Many visitors return year after year, which aligns with our vision to become a nationally competitive culinary tourism destination. This vision is shared by the four Townships, Wellington Waterloo Community Futures, and Explore Waterloo, who all partner to put on the event.
Here is a promo video for our Taste the Countryside 2022
