PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Peninsula’s homemade and homegrown food and beverages, like home cooking, can bring more visitors, their palates and their wallets to the Peninsula.
That’s the message brought to a Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce on Monday as two leaders of the four-county Olympic Peninsula Loop Culinary Tourism Association discussed the newly harvested amalgamation.
Peter Becker, president of the collaboration, and Kathy Charlton, treasurer of the group, said culinary tourism on the highway loop in Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor and Mason counties is about more than a dining guide slapped together.
“It is away of showcasing food and beverages that are indigenous and created in our area,” said Charlton, who owns Port Angeles’ Olympic Cellars Winery, to the group of about 100 business people at Monday’s Port Angeles CrabHouse luncheon.
“This area is pulled together because of U.S. Highway 101, which loops through all four counties.
“On this loop, we are encouraging people to sample the fares of our area.”
Olympic Highway
The group, by looping the Olympic Highway — which also includes U.S. Highway 12 and state Highway 8 that connect two parts of U.S. 101 between Aberdeen and Shelton — is marketing the Peninsula as a place for tourists’ tastebuds to get excited.
“From the farm to the table, we want it to be authentic,” Charlton said.
“Food is the only activity that 100 percent of our visitors have in common — we all eat.
“Food involves all fives senses and it creates emotions that are powerful enough to cause them to travel to sample our food.”
To join the culinary group, businesses must serve up at least one menu item that showcases food from the Olympic Peninsula.
One of the challenges of food on the Peninsula is distribution, Becker said.
“We found that there was no method of distribution — everything that was grown or harvested here was essentially sent off the Peninsula and then brought back to the Peninsula,” he said.
“We found that it took four days for seafood to make it off and back.
Easing distribution
So in addition to marketing the area food, the group is coordinating growers, harvesters and others with restaurants and other food services to make sure that the food is fresh and available.
“We are considered pioneers by the state tourism board,” Charlton said.
“We are organized and ready — and really a role model for other areas.”
Culinary tourism is also rising in popularity because it spans all ages, economic groups and other demographics, she said.
“Not surprisingly, in the many studies conducted, 100 percent of people ate out when traveling,” Charlton said.
“For people who are serious about food, they generally budget about 50 percent of their traveling budget for food.
“That means if the trip is going to be $2,000 — $1,000 of that will be for food.”
One-fifth of buying
The ultimate goal is to encourage all restaurants to buy about 20 percent of their food locally.
“If the whole greater Seattle area did that, it would come to about $1 billion extra per year,” said Charlton.
Culinary experiences around the Peninsula are already being marketed but more is to come, Becker said
A Web site for the group is not yet activated, but will eventually feature information on chefs, restaurants and other epicurean opportunities.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
