DAYLESFORD could soon be the home of an Australian-first institute which would bring together all sectors of the food industry to create a world-class destination for food education, innovation and tourism.
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The business case into the Institute for Gastronomy and Good Food was released by The Lake House’s Alla Wolf-Tasker AM on Monday with the idea being to create a hub where the growing demands of the food industry could be met and built upon.
The case states a sum of at least $25 million would be needed from the Victorian Government, William Angliss Institute and Regional Development Australia to establish it, while it would create over 200 jobs during construction, before providing 476 permanent jobs and generating $22 million per year in economic benefits.
Ms Wolf-Tasker, who is the driving force behind the idea, said the case was a year’s work towards re-imagining the food industry.
“We discovered along this journey that food is a continuum. It starts with the seed and results in a product that you either purchase, consume, look at or read about. But inbetween is a whole spectrum of people involved, from growers, manufacturers, re-generative farmers and retailers.”
She said the main outcome of the case was to create a place to nurture culinary and food talent across the board, while providing further opportunities for culinary professionals to address skills shortages.
“There is a shortage in knowledge transfer and educational opportunities so this would provide that full spectrum for culinary professionals in one hub,” she said.
“We have all these individual career opportunities but we don’t immerse people in the whole spectrum. This as an opportunity to have people studying food under a wide variety of possible outcomes.”
Ms Wolf-Tasker said the hub would be a place for expert fellows to host workshops, which would then be captured on a platform library for dispersal.
“There is a fracturing of food opportunities for young people as the industry sits in so many departments. They are really siloed and therefore the money is siloed,” she said. “So the challenge for us is how we get every sector working together.”
Associate Director of Higher Education and Quality at William Angliss Institute, Paul Whitelaw, said the project presented a unique opportunity to harness a special combination of Australia’s premier food production centres and tourist destinations in a state specialist centre for food, events, education and training.
“We are firmly focused on the next steps involved… The task is just beginning. Now, we have a collective challenge to take this case to the next stage,” he said.