PORT TOWNSEND — There is one activity that all tourists take part in when they travel: They all eat.
“Food and drink are the only interests that all tourists have in common,” said Christina Pivarnik, a member of the Olympic Peninsula Loop Culinary Tourism Association.
“So we are looking to bring together the farmers, the producers and the chefs from the region to see what we can do to support a type of culinary tourism.”
Pivarnik, the marketing director for the city of Port Townsend, has been working with the association since January to form what will soon be called the “Olympic Culinary Loop.”
On Monday, Pivarnik and fellow association members Jay Payne, executive chef at Bon Appetit, and Steve Shivley, an administrator with Fort Worden State Park, explained the concept, benefits and implementation of such a loop to about 50 people at the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
The mapped-out loop along U.S. Highway 101 would allow travelers to take part in a localized culinary experience. From tours of the farms to chats with local chefs, the loop would provide a unique experience for people interested in the journey food takes from the farm, ocean, river or dairy to their plate.
“Culinary tourism is not to be confused with gourmet tourism,” Pivarnik said.
“Culinary is the hands on and the chef coming out to tell you where exactly the fish came from.”
The loop would provide visitors with locations to do everything from simply meeting the farmers or chefs to getting muddy and digging for a geoduck, Shivley said.
“It shows you where it all comes from,” he said.
“You get to explore, you get to experience.”
Jefferson, Clallam, Mason and Grays Harbor counties have banded together in the association to create the loop.
“The benefit is that it is so large,” Shivley said.
“If you tried to do it all in one day, you would be very tired and need a lot of Alka-Seltzer.
“People will keep coming back to take part and complete the loop.”
Shivley said the group is still in the first phase of creating the loop right.
“We are getting the producers, the growers and the restaurants on board first,” he said.
“Then we intend to get the consumers involved.”
The group is creating a Web site and has a presence on Facebook.
Pivarnik said the loop may be ready to run in January 2010.
“Really, our goal is to unify our farmers, our producers and our restaurants and chefs, and market all of them all together,” Pivarnik said.
“It’s a multiple-visit destination, and it’s a multiple-season destination.
“It’s good for people, for restaurants, and it helps find financial viability, especially for our farmers.”
Payne explained the concept of getting involved as a restaurant.
“It’s an experience,” he said.
“The pledge we want for a restaurant to be included is to have three items on their menu that are made from local products, that are part of the local food system and support the local economy.
“It’s a bit more effort to make that happen, and it’s a bit more involved, but hopefully, people will see what we’ve done, see it’s special and want to come back.”
For more information on the Olympic Culinary Loop, contact the Olympic Peninsula Visitors Bureau at 360-452-8552.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com