Taste our place

Page 16 - Agriculture Magazine, June 2020

Kristine Komar Ravalli County Tourism Business Improvement District

Food and culinary experiences have always been a big part of traveling… it’s a tradition to indulge during a vacation and to search out and devour local and regional cuisine. Most local food also has a story attached making it deeper and richer, truly food for the body and the soul. Focusing on local food is a way to learn more about the local heritage and culture of a place as well as a way to create memories to savor long after the experience is physically concluded.

Food -and drink- are becoming such an important aspect of travel that the organizations marketing tourism are creating product to highlight culinary tourism. That is exactly what the Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development has done with Taste our Place, which is part of the Made in Montana program. Food Tourism is helping with destination marketing promotion.

Creating a listing with Taste our Place is easy -and FREE - for local producers. It’s a way to boost promotion, a way to extend marketing to an audience often reached even before they arrive. Taste our Place might also inspire producers to develop additional products that can be taken-away by travelers or ordered again once they return home. Another example of an allied offering is a cooking class or workshop which are also popular and offer businesses the opportunity to work together…

how about creating a partnerships to gather ingredients then prepare (and eat) them?

Those who sign-up for Taste our Place will received a box of SWAG including coasters, pint glass, pens, stickers, and more. To sign up you must offer ready-to-consume food and/or beverages with locally sourced ingredients, whether it’s the beef in your burger, the barley in your craft beer, or the flour in your dessert. The Taste our Place logo signifies a declaration of authentic Montana quality.

As great as the program is for individual businesses, when many producers participate together the entire community is supported and marketed. To learn more about the program, to create a listing, or locate the tasty places in your community, visit madeinmontanausa.com/Taste-our-Place.

Visit Bitterroot Valley (RC-TBID) works to market the Bitterroot Valley as a travel destination. You can find us online at visitbitterrootvalley.com or on Facebook, Instragram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.