Did you know that Yucatan is one of the most diverse regions for dishes and ingredients in Mexico? It has a culinary history that dates back millenia and new innovative food ideas are being creative each day. It seems like each week there is a new gastronomic option opening and even for us it’s hard to keep up with! The city is a hub for culinary talent, boasting chefs who represent both regional and contemporary gastronomy.
This recognition has earned Merida two significant designations, acknowledging not only the special flavors of its dishes but also its use of food as a medium to communicate, promote, and preserve its customs, traditions, and ancient techniques. These efforts not only pass down knowledge from generation to generation but also position Merida and Yucatán in the global spotlight.
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https://midcitybeat.com/foodie/5-mid-city-must-try-foodie-spots-in-centro-merida/
A Recognized Food Capital
Since 2017, Merida has been part of the Food Capitals of the Délice Network, and since 2019, it has been designated as a creative city in gastronomy by UNESCO. The Délice Network includes 26 cities such as Barcelona, Brussels, Busan, Cali, Chicago, Gaziantep, Gothenburg, Guangzhou, Helsinki, Izmir, Lausanne, Leipzig, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Malmo, Mérida, Montreal, Puebla, San Antonio, Stavanger, Tartu, Tbilisi, Turin, Tucson, Wroclaw, and Mérida. Each member city has different approaches to food and gastronomy, providing strength to the network through diverse concepts, projects, and methodologies.
Annual Assembly of the Délice Network
Annually, the Délice Network holds an assembly where cities engage in discussions, networking, and collaborative projects in one of the network’s destinations, experiencing local gastronomy firsthand. Last year, the General Assembly was held in Malmo, Sweden, and Merida was chosen as the host city for 2024 with the theme: Back to the Origin, highlighting the importance of traditional cuisine. Merida welcomed over 10 “Food Capitals” to exchange experiences, projects, and ideas, fostering global collaboration for the promotion and dissemination of each city’s gastronomy.
UNESCO Designation
In celebration of World Cities Day on October 31, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Mérida as a Creative City of Gastronomy in 2019. After more than ten months of work, Mérida submitted a comprehensive project encompassing economic, environmental, and social aspects to become one of the world’s creative cities in gastronomy. This designation places Mérida among the elite global cities that base their development on creativity through music, folk arts, design, film, literature, digital arts, or gastronomy.
Mexico boasts ten cities in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network: Ensenada and Mérida (Gastronomy), San Cristóbal de Las Casas (Crafts), Puebla, Mexico City, and Querétaro (Design), Morelia, Xalapa, and Mexicali (Music), and Guadalajara (Digital Arts). Mérida stands out as a Mayan city with great cultural diversity that has creatively transformed into products of excellence. Today, thanks to the efforts of the Mérida City Council and the creativity of its citizens, Merida has become one of the leading gastronomic references worldwide.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network was established in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities that identify creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. The network spans seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Digital Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature, and Music. The cities in the network work together towards a common goal: positioning creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their local development plans and actively cooperating internationally.
