Process:
One out of five main dimensions of the ICC Strategy of Melitopol is intercultural tourism and hospitality. It is along the lines of this dimension that the local ICC coordinator launched “Intercultural Map” Initiative in August 2017.
The “Intercultural Map” is an incarnation of an ambitious idea to add the tastes and flavours of the cuisines of the Melitopol’s different ethnicities to the list of cultural practices. This idea was inspired by a true historical rarity of our city - the book "Tips of the Melitopol Cooks of the XIX century" – that was discovered, restored and published in 2017. Recipes for this book were once carefully assembled by a young officer, who won the heart of his beloved by having walked through all settlements carefully collecting a great variety of the recipes typical for each culture residing in Melitopol at the time.
Relying on the information from the book, the “Intercultural Map” was created to include ethnic restaurants in the city that specialize on ethnic cuisine – Georgian, Karaim, Tatar, Hungarian, Jewish, German. A short video was also prepared about each ethnicity featuring costume, music, traditions and, of course, cuisine. The map was published and distributed to the guests and participants of the 233th anniversary celebration of Melitopol City.
The action raised awareness of Melitopol residents and its visitors about the intercultural history of Melitopol and boosted a number of customers for the participating ethnic cuisine restaurants. This action is a result of close collaboration of the local SMEs, local University (historians and students), and the Melitopol City Hall.
Key reference documents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5cEqlcTUM0&ab_channel=VyacheslavAlternative
