The new annual celebration on April 18 invites communities and destinations from around the world to recognize individuals and practices that keep endangered food traditions alive.
LONDON, April 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — With globalization, industrial standardization, and changing consumer habits putting increasing pressure on food traditions, the World Food Travel Association (WFTA) today launched World Culinary Heritage Day, a global annual event held every April 18 dedicated to celebrating and safeguarding the food traditions that define communities, identities, and destinations worldwide. This event builds on the World Food Travel Day organized by WFTA for eight years. The new brand reflects a broader mission and greater global appeal – focusing not only on culinary travel but on culinary heritage itself – while making the day more immediately understandable to communities, media, and policymakers worldwide.
Whether it’s family recipes, artisanal production methods, regional ingredients, or traditional cooking techniques, culinary heritage is one of the most accessible and meaningful expressions of culture, yet it is disappearing. Based on a comparative review of 29 countries, WFTA estimates that around 13% of traditional culinary practices have disappeared or are extremely threatened – losses that are accumulating. The people who preserve these traditions – farmers, fishermen, producers, chefs, and local communities – often remain invisible.
“Culinary heritage is not just about what’s on the plate: it’s about the grandma whose recipe has been passed down for generations, the farmer growing an almost forgotten grain, the community of fishermen with techniques predating written history,” said Erik Wolf, Executive Director of the World Food Travel Association. “These traditions are disappearing faster than we can document them. World Culinary Heritage Day is a global call to recognize their value before it’s too late.”
Through storytelling, education, and community action, World Culinary Heritage Day aims to make culinary heritage an essential pillar of cultural identity, sustainable tourism, and local economic resilience, encouraging the next generation to protect the traditions that make each place irreplaceable.
World Culinary Heritage Day is the flagship initiative of the Taste of Place movement. Join the movement at JoinTasteofPlace.org.
Contact media Erik Wolf, Executive Director World Food Travel Association help@worldfoodtravel.org WorldFoodTravel.org
About the World Food Travel Association Founded in 2001, the World Food Travel Association (WFTA) is the leading global authority on food tourism, serving professionals, destinations, and businesses in over 100 countries. Through its “Taste of Place” movement, WFTA strives to protect and promote culinary traditions that define communities worldwide. WorldFoodTravel.org
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