Foodie honours put Victorian city on the world map

Victoria’s fourth biggest city is the first in Australia to be named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, joining such famous food destinations as Parma in Italy and Macau. See where it is.

Bendigo chefs Laurie Whelan of The Good Loaf, Bob Yam of Malayan Orchid, Hayley Tibbett of Indulge Chocolates and Paul Pitcher of The Woodhouse celebrate the UN recognition. Picture: Rob Leeson

The United Nations has declared Bendigo a city of food.

Victoria’s fourth biggest city is the first in Australia to be named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, joining such famous food destinations as Parma in Italy and Macau.

Sonia Anthony of acclaimed restaurant Masons of Bendigo said the award was a huge achievement for the city.

“This recognition means we’ve now been put on the map on an international level,” she said. “Increasingly people are making Bendigo and Central Victoria a destination for food discovery and this is another feather in our cap.”

Bendigo chefs Laurie Whelan of The Good Loaf, Bob Yam of Malayan Orchid, Hayley Tibbett of Indulge Chocolates and Paul Pitcher of The Woodhouse. Picture: Rob Leeson

Masons of Bendigo champions the local producers and winemakers of the region and has been named in the delicious.100 list of Victoria’s top 100 restaurants for the past four years.

“I think a large number of venues will benefit from the tourism that will come through this City of Gastronomy. People can come and spend a few days discovering the region,” she said.

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The UNESCO Creative Cities is a network of more than 300 cities around the world awarded for excellence in the fields of gastronomy, music, literature, crafts and folk art, design, media arts, and film.

Bendigo joins four other Australian cities in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Melbourne was declared a UNESCO City of Literature in 2008, with Geelong named a City of Design, Sydney a City of Film and Adelaide a City of Music.