Case Studies
Turtle Island Fiji
At Turtle Island, an exclusive private island in the South Pacific, no more than 24 guests at a time are treated to the experience of their lives — private beaches, airy villas with panoramic views and now, fantastic locally-inspired food.
During a 1.5-year engagement, ESP Consulting built a culinary tourism focus for the business, from both a functional and a marketing standpoint. With a focus on quality and sustainability, we built an F&B program that truly showcased the island’s unique culinary offerings. Services rendered:
- Menu development
- Staff training & development
- Kitchen design
- Marketing strategy
- Event execution
- Regional cuisine development
Our recommended marketing and brand strategies have been implemented, and as a result, the island is seeing a much stronger culinary tourism presence.
“With a focus on ingredient-driven cuisine, and the stories of the farmers, fishers and foragers, Turtle Island is continuing to curate a menu that showcases a true taste of place and will continue to be the number one resort in Fiji and the best place to experience an authentic culinary experience, thanks to the hard work and influence of Chef Pateman.”
— Landi Burns, General Manager, Turtle Island, Fiji
Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development
The gorgeous landscapes of Auckland, New Zealand, produce some of the world’s finest foods — beef, lamb, honey, seafood and more — but historically, it hasn’t been known as a foodie destination, or had much of a strategy for promoting its culinary excellence. That needed to change.
ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development) engaged ESP Culinary Consulting to develop a Regional Culinary Tourism Strategy for Auckland’s “Super City.” The area, which encompasses everything within a two-hour drive of Central Auckland, includes a mix of urban and rural landscapes.
Over the course of a 1.5-year engagement, we defined the area’s USPs, investigated new ways to bridge cultures and build communities and made recommendations for engaging and working in tandem with the Indigenous Maori people.
The resulting 70-page strategy document outlined a food-forward vision for Auckland’s future, and the steps needed to get there, encompassing:
- Marketing Strategies
- Content Development
- Community and Industry Engagement
ATEED is currently in the process of implementing these recommendations, and we are looking forward to seeing their results.
While in Auckland, we filmed the pilot episode of Edible Planet, a TV show telling the stories of local producers. More updates will be forthcoming!
Tourism Association of the Yukon
Yukon Territory has become one of Canada’s burgeoning culinary hotspots, thanks in part to the hard work and strategic vision of ESP Culinary Consulting.
Our work with the Yukon has been a long-term engagement, with an ongoing partnership dating back to 2015, when Eric Pateman attended the Yukon Culinary Festival. By 2016, he was running it.
The results? The festival, which was once a modest 2-day celebration, has grown to become a year-round event with industry and ministerial buy-in, and been recognized as one of Canada’s top food festivals.
With the support of the Yukon Government, we wrote the Territorial Culinary Tourism Strategy in 2019, with implementation scheduled for 2020 and beyond.
