City of Launceston council supports UNESCO City of Gastronomy bid

At its Thursday meeting the City of Launceston council voted unanimously to approve financial support for the application valued at $25,000.

The bid is also being financially supported by other northern councils including Break O'Day, Dorset, George Town, Meander Valley, Northern Midlands and West Tamar to the value of $28,401.

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The vote means the council endorses the bid for City of Gastronomy designation as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities program.

Speaking in favour of the motion, councillor Hugh Mckenzie said the designation would signify Launceston, and Northern Tasmania broadly, as a place of excellence.

"It's all about innovation. It's all about promoting the greater Launceston area as a city that produces fine food ... it promotes us world as a place that has excellence in regards to what it actually does," he said.

"I think it is something that is worthwhile and adds to the fabric of what Launceston is all about."

Councillor Andrea Dawkins said the accreditation would be a celebration of what makes Launceston unique.

"I think this is a natural progression on us being able to stake a claim on what it means to be Northern Tasmanian and what the properties are that make that unique," she said.

The Creative Cities program began in 2004 and features 246 cities from across the globe. The gastronomy designation was created to recognise cities featuring exceptional food and produce.

Future funding will be based on key performance indicators.

The project will be seeking matched funding of $50,000 from the state government as well as Food Innovation Australia Limited cluster funding of $150,000.

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