Fabienne Theiler moved to Sweden from Switzerland in 2015 to experience life in Norrland. She got a job as a project manager at Torsta, where she would work with gastronomy and culinary tourism. When she arrived, she was not aware that Östersund and Jämtland had been designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, but as soon as she learned about it, she wanted to help spread the brand and knowledge of our Jämtland culinary craftsmanship to a wider audience.

– I felt that the designation was mostly a title, but that all the culinary craftsmanship in the region was not visible. I missed everything from fine restaurants and events to signs about local food artisans along the roads in the county. What I saw did not reflect that we were a “creative region”. That was when Fia Gulliksson and I decided to launch a food festival – because a city with award-winning gastronomy must have its own festival!

In 2017, the food festival EatArt was organized for the first time. The purpose was to promote, celebrate, and showcase the food culture in the city. Fabienne wanted to present the food artisans, spread knowledge, and also connect the cultural sector with food.

– We invited participants from other cities and continents during the five years we organized the festival. We had fusion cooking with guest chefs and local chefs and achieved a fantastic exchange of knowledge. In our county, for example, we are very strong in producing and processing locally grown products, and we had the opportunity to showcase and teach this.

In 2022, Fabienne also participated in a food festival in Spain. She brought a female baker and a female chef to demonstrate that our region has strong women in an industry that is often male-dominated.

– We should feel pride in being a Creative City of Gastronomy. By participating in UNESCO events and inviting people from the network here, we can together promote our brand as a gastronomic region.