The Provincial Council of Castellón has implemented its gastronomic brand Castelló Ruta de Sabor throughout the provincial territory as a great element to boost the economy of the municipalities and also the identity of Castellón’s culture. Thus, the Provincial Government already brings together nearly 300 companies between producers and tourist establishments that weave an efficient network of tourist experiences with gastronomy as the protagonist with the ultimate goal of generating future opportunities in the towns and economic dynamism for the people of Castellón. It should be noted that Castelló Ruta de Sabor has been implemented in all the counties of Castellón, having a special role in rural areas where it is consolidating in its five years of experience as a way of generating significant employment and motivating the generational replacement in agri-food and tourism businesses.

The provincial deputy of Rural Development, Pablo Roig, said that “we had the challenge of bringing together under the same umbrella brand the entire catalog of gastronomic products that our province produces, cultivates and produces daily along with the tourist experiences that are generated around these products. Today we see how this brand has established itself as an effective resource that helps our producers to sell more and better while attracting hundreds of visitors to the villages through the tourist experiences that are generated or on the occasion of the dozens of events that are promoted around their most traditional products.

Among the most unique attributes of Castelló Ruta de Sabor that the important territorial implantation of the brand in the rural territory of Castelló is achieving is its capacity to generate new opportunities for the future in very unpopulated places.

Great precursor of gastronomic fairs and events

Castelló Ruta de Sabor has also had a great deal to say in the organization of trade fairs and gastronomic events. Thus, through this differentiating element created by the Diputación de Castellón, it promotes training sessions, conferences and gastronomic events, as well as projecting the image of Castellón products in the most important national gastronomic events.

Some of these events are listed below as a sample of the magnitude of the activity being generated by Castelló Ruta de Sabor:

Training sessions: European Forum of Gastronomic Tourism with a presentation by Quique Dacosta, different editions of the Seminar on Olive Growing and Olive Oil Technology, training courses for truffle growers, awareness days ‘Healthy breakfasts’, cycle of paired tastings, technical conference ‘Communication, gastronomy and tourism brand. The case of Castelló Ruta de Sabor’, training sessions on the Castelló Ruta de Sabor tourist product and training sessions for restaurateurs in Vinaròs.

• Gastronomic days and events: Sabors de l’Alt Maestrat Gastronomic Days.; Gastronomic Days of Mushrooms, Meat and Autumn Products; Gastronomic Days of the Truffle; Gastronomic Days of the Olive Oil and Olive OilGastronomic Days of the Truffle; Gastronomic Days of oil and nuts; Gastronomic Days ‘Castelló Ruta de Sabor’ of Alcossebre; Gastronomic Days of Alto Palancia, Gastronomic Days of the Seafood Rice in the Marina of Oropesa del Mar; sponsorship of the Sabores Castellón Tapas Route, different editions of ‘8 Chefs 8 Platos’, solidarity dinner of the Association ‘l’Olla de la Plana’, Open Days at Production Centers.
• Participation in gastronomic events: Millesime Madrid, Gastrónoma since 2016, Madrid Fusión, Salón Gourmets, Fruits Logistica Fair, showcookings at FITUR… and is currently finalizing its participation in Salimat, the Atlantic Food Fair to be held in Silleda (Pontevedra) in June.
• Organization of fairs: Castelló Ruta de Sabor has been an important precursor to the creation of gastronomic fairs, with examples such as the Craft Beer Fair, Truffle Market, Castellón Wine Fair, Castelló Ruta de Sabor Gastronomic Tourism Fair, Mostra de la Trufa Negra de l’Alt Maestrat, Fira Gastronòmica d’Alcossebre or the Castelló Ruta de Sabor Fair at GASMA.
• Collaboration in municipal fairs: among others, Castelló Ruta de Sabor collaborates with the Benicarló Local Products Fair, Les Useres Wine Fair, Cherry Fair in Caudiel and La Salzadella, Mesones de la Magdalena, Sant Andreu Fair in Cabanes, Tomato Fair in Penjar d’Alcalà de Xivert, Alto Palancia Gastronomic Show, Montanejos Artisan Cheese Fair and the Castellón Brewers Association.

Castelló Ruta de Sabor and the evolution of adhered producers

In 2014, the Castellón Provincial Council launched the Castelló Ruta de Sabor brand, with the collaboration of the Official Association of Agricultural Engineers of the Valencian Community, with the aim of promoting the consumption of local products among the people of Castellón and generating new opportunities for small gastronomic producers.

14 were the first agri-food companies to join this ambitious project promoted by the provincial government. After the successive accessions, there are currently 119 producers certified to make use of this brand as a differentiating element of the highest quality of local products, and between them they total nearly 300 products.

Olive oils, mineral waters, meats and sausages, craft beers, fruits, vegetables and nuts, liqueurs, jams, bakery and confectionery products, fish and seafood, cheeses and dairy products, nougat, wines, truffles and mushrooms, coffees, eggs… and even organic products, are part of the Castelló Ruta de Sabor brand.

Launching of tourism product and evolution of member companies

In October 2018, the Provincial Council presented the first 115 companies in the province of Castellón as ambassadors of the Castelló Ruta de Sabor product brand.

The launch of the Castelló Ruta de Sabor tourism product involved, for the first time in the province, the coordinated packaging of a network of tourism experiences linked to gastronomy. At the same time, the first gastromap of the province of Castellón was presented, a new tourism promotion tool for the towns through the brand of local gastronomic products and their location in the province, which suggests to the visitor a set of tourist experiences ranging from visiting vineyards, tasting tasty dishes in restaurants, learning about the production process of cheeses or oils or recognizing this gastronomic tradition in the historical heritage of the municipalities.

Agencies, accommodations, gastrobars, restaurants, stores, markets, interpretation centers, tourist offices, visitable agri-food industries, visitable fish markets, tourist fishing and agricultural and livestock producers are part of this aspect of the project that, after the new accessions carried out on May 14, 2019, will add a total of 162 companies in the province that are committed to the products produced in this one.