Azerbaijan's gastrotourism promoted in Moscow

By Azernews

By Leman Mammadova

Today, gastronomic tourism is becoming one of the rapidly developing types of tourism in the world. Azerbaijan, which is famous for its rich national cuisine, has the opportunity to attract tourists to the country with delicious dishes and oriental sweets.

The State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan has been represented at the World Food Moscow 2019 International Food Exhibition held in Moscow, Russian capital.

The country was once again represented by a single national stand "Made in Azerbaijan" as a partner country of the exhibition, with the organizational support of the Ministry of Economy and the Fund for the Promotion of Export and Investments in Azerbaijan

Visitors have been informed about the tourism potential of Azerbaijan and its new tourism strategy. They had the opportunity to get acquainted with more than 40 Azerbaijani companies, with local agricultural and food products displayed at the national stand with an area of over 400 square meters.

The Agency has set up a kitchen and a table of dishes of the country’s national cuisine to showcase the potential of Azerbaijan's agrotourism and gastrotourism.

During the master classes, participants were informed about the improvement of Azerbaijani cuisine in the 21st Century with its deep ethnographic roots, the biodiversity of the products used, and the fact that the cuisine itself and the dishes have been included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

The catalogs and banners containing information about Azerbaijan have been presented to visitors, as well as advertising videos of the tourism brand "Azerbaijan: Take Another Look" have been shown in the halls.

National cuisine offers a wide range of spices, meat dishes and vegetables. 

Dolma, bozbash, bozartma, Shish kebab, piti, pilaf, and govurma are unique dishes of the Azerbaijani cuisine. Shakh Pilaf is the signature dish of the national cuisine. The name of this dish is derived from its shape which resembles the crown of a Medieval Eastern ruler. It is traditionally presented as the main dish at wedding ceremonies in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan attracts those who have a sweet tooth. There are more than 30 varieties of Azerbaijani pastries that use unique ingredients such as poppy seeds, walnuts, almonds, sesame seeds, ginger, and cardamom, which make the treats spicy and especially tasty. Pakhlava, shekerbura, and badambura, symbols of the Novruz holiday, are among the most famous Azerbaijani sweets.

Azerbaijan has rich national cuisine, and with the right promotion work, it can become a leader in gastronomic tourism not only in the Caucasus region, but also far beyond it.