Wadden Gastronomy Strengthens the World Heritage Experience

Food is not the first thing visitors associate with the Wadden region, while other tourist destinations owe part of their popularity to their cuisine and culinary traditions — flavours and dishes loved by residents and visitors alike. Regional culinary specialities add an extra dimension to a recreational stay and stimulate spending in the local economy. The Wadden Sea World Heritage area offers a fairly diverse range of regional products but lacks a recognised culinary tradition.

The ambition is sustainable Wadden gastronomy as an attraction of the World Heritage site, with the focus firmly on preserving the ecological value of the area: a recreational stay with respect for sea and landscape, and for the value of nature and cultural history. Wadden gastronomy with attention to authentic taste and healthy food connects the presentation of the World Heritage as a cradle of sustainable food with the core values of the living environment — the nature and landscape of the Wadden region as a source of food and drink.

The programme is wide-ranging, which means several kinds of expertise are needed: collecting and developing Wadden recipes requires different experience, knowledge and networks than recording video clips or conducting research in the Wadden region. The team therefore works open-mindedly with a variety of experts. Wherever possible, students think along and gain experience — and in turn they form the team’s way in to young entrepreneurs in the area.

From NHL Stenden, colleagues from ETFI and Stenden Hotel Management School are involved: Anke Arts, Stefan Hartman, Ben Wielenga, Noël Middelhoek and Ernst Jonker. The project also collaborates with Firda and its chef training programme, which works from the principles of Dutch Cuisine. Students are invited to contribute to the various sub-projects.

The first two-year phase has been completed. It included an inspiration trip to Zeeland, network meetings, and a training module for entrepreneurs who want to work with regional products. Recipes and video clips were produced for inspiration and knowledge sharing, and ETFI conducted research into the use and experience of regional products by residents, visitors and businesses. Research is also under way into further developing the Waddengoud quality label, or restarting it in the form of a network.

In phase two, the programme will produce additional clips, organise new network meetings and set up a training course for Wadden entrepreneurs in the food chain. ETFI’s research continues, focusing on the experience of the different user groups.