The Foodie,
The Traveler
and the
Blue Foot Chicken
Calaveras County Visitors Bureau
Murphys, CA
April 29, 2009
“People travel
to meet other
people and
eat their food”
Burt Wolf
Television Journalist
“Tell me what you
eat and I will tell
you who you are”
Jean Brillat-Savarin
18th century Gastronome
The First Foodies…
Ann Barr
Paul Levy
In 1984, co-authored
“The Official Foodie Handbook”
“Foodies are the ones
salivating over restaurants,
recipes and radicchio”
Paul Levy
Co-author
The Official Foodie Handbook
The Kid from Corona
and his Foodie Journey…
Salmon Salad Tart
James Lileks 2001
Chicken Loaf with Olives
James Lileks 2001
The Jell-O Mold
James Lileks 2001
That casserole thing…
Foodie Core Values

Sense of Adventure
– Good food means taking risks

Desire to Travel
– Dining outside of your own
backyard

Share the Experience
– The Corsican Twins of life
– Wine with a cork
Foodie Tourism
is
Big Business
“Bottle
Shock”
Travel and Dining
70.9% of leisure travelers report
that they dine out when they
travel
 Dining out is the most popular
activity planned after tourists
arrive at a destination.

Destination Analysts 2009 and NRA 2006
68%
…of full service restaurants say
that tourists are very important
to their business
NRA 2005
Culinary Tourists
vs. Foodies

According to TIA and Edge
Research, 17% of leisure
travelers, or 27 million US adults
engage in “culinary tourism”
TIA/Edge research Jan. 2007
Foodie Market

Lang Research estimated that
27.3% of U.S. adults would be
interested in “Foodie Tourism”
55 million adults
Source: Lang Research 2005
How Big Is Foodie Tourism?
43.5 million leisure
travelers classify
themselves as Foodies
Destination Analysts 2009
Foodie Tourism Market





1999: 72 million
2001: 37 million
2008: 52.3 million
2009: 43.5 million
12-18,000 fine dining restaurants
will close this year…
SFCVB 1999-2001. Destination Analysts 2006-2009
So, Foodies…
Who are these People?
Definitely Not Foodies…
Eddie “Bozo” Miller
30 lbs of Elk Meatloaf
Sonia “Black Widow” Thomas
522 Oysters…10 minutes!
Who Are Foodies?
Foodies are dining hobbyists
 Foodies take the art of food and
wine very seriously
 Foodies are culinary brand
advocates

Brenda Thompson, Bethesda MD
KJ Brand Advocate
Seven karat, canary yellow diamond
Brand Advocate Badges
How Did we Find the Foodie?

SFCVB and NFO research
– July 1999 and 2001

State of the American Traveler
– 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009


Destination Analysts
All studies confidence level: 95%
– reliability: +/-3%
Foodies and Non-Foodies
Look Alike….sort of

Average age is 44…
– But skewing younger 25-34

Affluent: HHI $84,118
– 52% are residents of major metro
areas

Foodies differ by the 17
psychographic markers
Destination Analysts Jan 2009
Foodies: Psychographics




More frequent leisure travelers
More frequent business travelers
More frequent international travelers
Twice as likely to visit a destination
because it has good restaurants
– Three times more likely to stay overnight
for a specific restaurant
Destination Analysts 2009 & SFCVB 1999
Foodies Plan Ahead

Three times more likely to make
restaurant reservations on a
leisure trip prior to departure
Destination Analysts Jan. 2009
Foodies are Ready to Go…


Foodies say they are likely to travel
more this coming year for leisure
than non- foodies
Foodies spend more when they
traveled than non-foodies
Destination Analysts Jan. 2009
Where Do Foodies Want to Go?

Foodies want to visit Nevada and New
York , Florida and Alaska more than
non-foodies
– Specifically, Las Vegas, New York City
and Orlando

Top International:
– Canada, France, Italy Mexico and Spain
are their top choices for countries to
visit in the coming year
Destination Analysts Jan 2009
What Attracts Foodies?

When making travel decisions,
Foodies are more likely than nonfoodies to seek out destinations
which offer:
– Safety
– Shopping
– Spas
– Scenery
What Else Do Foodies Do?
 Heritage
Tourism
 Seek out Interesting Culture
 Historic Attributes
 Museums
 Excitement
–Casinos and gambling
Foodies and the Road…
More likely to have done
something new and exciting on
their last trip
 More likely to go nightclubbing
 Four times more likely to meet a
new romantic partner on the road

Destination Analysts January 2009
Foodies Like to be Pampered
Foodies are more likely to stay in
a Destination Vacation resorts in
the next two years
– Top attribute desired: Dining and
cuisine options
Destination Analysts Jan 2009
Workaholicrestafaurians




Foodies are more likely to have
traveled specifically to get away
from work
Yet they are also more likely:
To take their work with them on
vacation
Use a mobile device or PDA
A Touch Neurotic?

Foodies are more likely not to
travel than non-foodies because
of
– Safety concerns
– Other personal responsibilities
– Too busy at work
Foodies Crave Discovery
More likely to try new restaurants
 More likely to prefer trying new
things in restaurants they’ve
visited
 More likely to have experimented
with a new recipe at home

Destination Analysts 2006
Foodies are More Educated
and Social Media Savvy





Foodies are more likely to:
Have college and graduate degrees
Read and contribute to peer reviews
Watch on-line videos
Book travel on-line
Destination Analysts Jan 2009
Foodies Dominate Spending
 Foodies
spend 36% more per
week in restaurants than
average diners
 Foodies spend 68% more on
dinners than non-foodies
Destination Analysts 2008
Foodies and Wine



Two and a half times more likely to
have wine with dinner
Three times more likely to
consider themselves more
knowledgeable about wine
Three times as likely to have
visited a winery in the past year
Destination Analysts 2007
Foodies are Determined
38% will travel 50 miles or
more one way for a meal…
…12% will travel
100 miles or more…
…8% will travel
200 miles or more…
Destination Analysts 2009
“Foodie Speak”

Appreciate “pedigreed” ingredients:
– Harris Ranch Beef, Mary’s free range
chicken, Yuba plums, steel cut green
beans…

Know, that Ron Siegel was the first
American to defeat an Iron Chef
– Lobster Battle, Kitchen stadium

Know that Maine fisherman dredge
three times to find the best scallops
Foodies Speak Their Mind
Twice as likely to have complained
about food quality in the last 60 days
Twice as likely to have complained
about restaurant service in the last 60
days.
Destination Analysts 2006
Foodies and Money

Are less price conscious when they
travel
– Say they spent more money than they
expected on their last leisure trip
– Twice a likely to order room service or
use a mini bar
– Are less concerned with what they pay
in restaurants-it’s the experience
Destination Analysts 2009
French Laundry: Yountville



Green Asparagus Tempura Pine Nut
Tofu and Black Truffle Vinaigrette
Tartare of Kuroge Beef from Shiga
Crystallized Buddha’s Hand Biscotti
Tuile and Lemon Snow
– Prix Fixe $240 per person
– Lunch for two was $709
Alain Ducasse: New York






Formerly America’s most expensive
restaurant
Spring squash ravioli, contrast of
zucchini, clear essence
California Blue foot chicken on the spit
with morel fricassee
Dinner for four: $2,450
Closed December 2006
Adour opens at the St. Regis January
2008
American “poulet de Bresse”
Psst: “Grill on the Alley” Beverly Hills
America’s Most Expensive
Restaurant…Masa





Chef Masa Takayama serves Japanese
ginko nuts w/ tempura baby shrimp
heads.
Toro Tartare w/ White Sturgeon Caviar
Blowfish Sashimi w/ Lemon Vinaigrette
Shabu Shabu - individualized pots of hot
broth for dipping raw pieces of Foie Gras
and Lobster Shashimi.
Dinner for Four $3500
But Take Heart America, There’s
a recession going on…



Jean Georges is now serving a $35 three
course prix fixe with homemade
marshmallow nougatine
Primehouse in Chicago has a $20.09
steak dinner, London Grill in Philly has
steak or lobster dinner for $18.95
Fifth Floor in SF introduced and “honor
bar”…
WSJ Feb 2009
Regional Foodies
The New Frontier…
The Regional Foodie

184 million leisure travelers…
– 19.1%% consider regional cuisine
very important in their destination
decision.
– 5.7% of all leisure travelers have
visited a destination because of
an interest in regional cuisine
Destination Analysts 2008 and 2009
Potential Regional
Foodie Market
10-12 million
Regional Cuisine
Union Oyster House: Boston
 Regional
New England Feast
– Clam chowder
– Clam steamers
– Broiled lobster
– Native corn, red bliss potatoes,
Indian pudding
Regional Foodies Love the Icons
60% of customers are tourists
The Gas Station Down the Road…
with the Legendary Lobster Taquitos!
“Their website says that
Bananas Foster is
the house specialty
dessert…I'm trying to
figure out how they can
do a flaming dessert at
a gas station…”
Blogger on Chowhound June 2008
Matt Toomey
Chef Tioga Gas Mart
Regional Foodies
Love
Education…
Eight million took a class
last year on the road
Cooking Classes, Farmer’s Markets
and Food Festivals
Regional Foodies
Love Food Festivals

18.2 million leisure travelers attend
food related events annually
– There are 10,000 U.S. food festivals a
year…

Premiere Food Festivals
– Aspen Food and Wine Classic
– Taste of Vail

Typical Food Festivals
– Vegetable/Condiment/Fruit and Nut
Festivals
Food Festivals
 Kumquat
festival
will draw 35,000
to Dade City, FL.
 Miss
Kumquat
2008 Carly Turner
Miss Kumquat 2009…
Andrea Apple
My Nana’s Best Arizona
Salsa Tasting Challenge





64 chefs…
3,000 pounds of
Tostitos…
1,000 gallons of
salsa…
7,000 margaritas…
Good times… for
20,000
S’more Food Festivals



National Grits Festival, Warwick GA
draws 6,000
The Lentil Fest in Pullman, WA will
draw 25,000
Gilroy Garlic Fest attracts 107,500
– Garlic Ice Cream


The Asparagus Festival will draw
110,000
Ohio Sauerkraut Fest will draw
250,000 to Waynesville… (where?)
Foodies are
Adventurous Diners
Twice as likely to have done
something risky and dangerous on
their last leisure trip…
Destination Analysts 2009
The Tiro Testicle Festival
Held annually in Tiro, Ohio--in the
middle of nowhere--between
Columbus and Cleveland
 Pig and bull testicles are breaded
and deep-fried to within a “short
hair of perfection”
 Festival motto: "You'll have a ball"

Real Foodies are Real Serious
Foie gras, caviar and sweetbreadskinder spiel!
 You're not a real Foodie if you
won’t try kidneys, tripe, brains,
chicken feet, pigeon blood, and
fugu…

Case Studies
Statewide Programs
California Land of Wine and Food



Core value
driven- three
year program
$10 million
media budget
Co-op centric
Land of Food and Wine Print Campaign
Website
Print/Web Co-op

Program for CA DMO’s
– Buy-in $1,000-$50,000

Contribute content
– Tourism.visitcalifornia.com
– Updates all CTTC run sites
– LWF has direct (social media)
input to site
South Carolina
South Carolina
Savor the Flavor
•
•
•
•
Savory Reels
Restaurant Talk
Blog
Wineries and
Breweries
• Kids Section
• E-Newsletter
• Schools, Chefs and
Tours
South Carolina: Savory Reels
South Carolina
Results: A Lesson

Newsletter subscribers doubled in
2008 vs. 2007
– 13,160 to 27,193

But website visitor traffic has
declined by 57% YOY
– SCRTB pulled media and PPC budget
and discontinued blog contributions
Citywide Programs
SFCVB: Preferred Dining


Goal: Drive room nights leveraging
the destination’s culinary assets
Challenge: create a transactional
restaurant program in a premier
restaurant market
– “We don’t want to give away food”

Solution: two tiered program
San Francisco Case Study

Two Tiered Offer strategy
– National recognition (1%)


Priority Reservations
Signature dish
– Regional/local recognition (99%)




20% off check
Complimentary Appetizer/Dessert
Two for one entrée
Prix fixe
Economic Impact
$42.1 million incremental
restaurant sales
 68,349 incremental room nights
 $103 million total destination
economic impact

SFCVB
Case Study: Dine About Town

Prix Fixe Dining Concept
– month-long
Lunch $19.95
 Dinner $29.95

– “Don’t giveaway food…”
– 14,000 visits from Bay Area residentsspecifically for the program
Prix Fixe Generates
More Revenue

Total party spending
– Came for DAT
– Didn’t come for DAT
– Difference
$123
$104
+15%
*Identical party size 3.2 persons pretax after tip
Source: SFCVB 2002
Regional/County Programs
Santa Barbara CVB Program

Experiences
– Seasonal itineraries, cooking classes, farm
tours, events and festivals

Food
– restaurants, artisan bakeries, recipes,
regional produce

Drink
– Wineries, breweries, artisan cocktails


Lodging packages
Foodie glossary
Tri-Valley CVB
Yakima Valley: “Farm Fresh Fun”
Yakima Valley


Set up a packaging
site-Washington
Wine-Country.com to
promote lodging and
food strategy
Once a year, bureau
chooses a food and
wine event and helps
with promotion
Program Results
Steady increase in web site
traffic to website
 Consistent 5% click-through
rate from banner ads on state
website

Yakima Valley CVB April 2009
Calaveras
Assets
What Grows on “the Rock”
$7,000,000.00
$6,000,000.00
$5,000,000.00
$4,000,000.00
$3,000,000.00
$2,000,000.00
$1,000,000.00
$0.00
Cattle
&Calves
Wine
Grapes
Poultry
Walnuts
Calaveras County Dept of Agriculture April 2009
“Happy Cows”




Mendoza Red
Angus
Rex Whittle
Rasmussen
Ranch
John’s Natural
Products
Calaveras Wine
27 wineries
 28 varietals
including:

– Alicante Bouschet,
Pinotage, Tesoro,
Mouvedre

Higher elevated
vineyards
Wet Gulch
Ranch
Walnuts
Poultry
Foster Farms Turkeys
Burson
•Olive Oaks
•Rancho Marisol
•Mancuso Farm
•Winter Creek
•Bonita Ranch
•Calaveras Olive Oil
•Skyhawk Olive Oil
Trinitas Olive Oil
Blue Sky Blueberries
Gold Country Honey
The Other White Meat?
Regional: Delta Asparagus
A Basket of Riches…

Cucumbers, tomatoes, squashes, peppers,
eggplant, eight varieties of blueberries,
peak plum, apples, figs, Thompson
seedless grapes, pumpkins, eggs, olives,
olive oils, green beans, watermelon,
casaba melon, muskmelon, persimmons,
cantaloupe, chilies, lettuces, snow peas,
carrots, corn, casaba melons, chard, kale,
beets, onions, garlic, honey, but no
potatoes…
The Florida “Savior Potato”
Micro Brewery
Branding the Ingredients

Best on-line
resource of
Foodie content
in the county
and a theme
song!
Restaurants
Restaurant Assets

Fine Dining

Grounds

Notos Sicilliana 
Mineral

Sarafinas Kitchen 
V Restaurant

Copper Grill









Local
Snowshoe Brewing
Frank’s Cafe
Mountain Mikes
Crusco’s
La Contenta
Giant Burger
Firewood
Primos Pizza
Restaurant Assets

Historic

Ethnic

Tallahans
Lube Room Saloon
Hotel Leger
Murphys Historic
Hotel


Mexico Lindo
Good Friends
Chinese
Far East Chinese

Markets

Big Trees Market
Camp Cornell
General Store





Regional Restaurants








Taste: Plymouth
Incahoots: Plymouth
Susan’s Place: Sutter Creek
Café Via D’Oro: Sutter Creek
Imperial Hotel: Amador
Buscaglias: Jackson
Theresa’s: Jackson
Diamond Back Grill: Sonora
Foodie Speak

California carpaccio: seared beef
tenderloin, Vella Jack Cheese, 50
year old sherry vinegar, caper
blossoms and grilled sourdough
Copper Grill at Saddle Creek
Foodie Speak

The Ultimate Grilled Cheese
Sandwich with Fiscalini farms San
Joaquin Gold, smoked bacon,
lettuce and tomato in La Brea
Bakery Sourdough
Diamondback Grill
Foodie Speak: Regional

French onion soup in a late harvest
zinfandel paired with parmesan
croutons and gruyere cheese

Fire grilled skirt steak marinated in
Corona, lime and red chilies paired
with a robust chimichurri sauce
Café Via D’Oro
Foodie Speak: Regional
Del Rio Organic Arugula, Braeburn
Apples, candied pecans, Oregon bleu
cheese sherry vinaigrette

Restaurant Taste
Alchemy



Sierra Sunshine salad…
….Arugula with local olive oil and
balsamic vinegar
The Ultimate meatloaf….
Calling It Out



New Chain wide
initiative
Now sourcing
ingredients
from local
farmer’s
markets
Calling out on
the menu
Farmer’s Markets and
Roadside Stands


Arnold: Sunday
San Andreas:
Wednesday


A.O. Ranch
Mcacre Farms
Festivals Wine Events




Grape Stomp October
Passport Weekend
Wines of the World
Wine Grape and Gourmet
Calaveras
Foodie Program
Recomendation
Brand It
Build It
Measure It
Brand It
 Define
your destination’s
Foodie brand (group
discussion)
–Register .com, .net, .org,
.travel, and .biz
–Promote it: Intel Inside
Defining Your Foodie Brand
 “Old
World” media
–National, regional and local
food and wine media
 Bon
Appetit, Gourmet, Saveur,
Food and Wine…
 Zagat, Michelin
 Local newspaper, radio, and
cable TV
Defining Your Foodie Brand

“New Age” Media
– Chowhound.com
– Yelp.com
– Food.Yahoo.com
– Trip Advisor.com
– Zagat.com
– Local online newspaper
– Citysearch.com
Experience Counts
Calaveras Foodie Brand
What is the Brand Statement?
 “Rock of Plenty”
 “Sierra Cornucopia”
 ? Let’s Discuss…

Build It
1.
2.
3.
Develop a Foodie micro-site
Define your Foodie assets
Create promotional programs
to build room nights
The Foodie Microsite



Easy, low cost and simple
Leverage the LWF program by CTTC
Allow for social media updates
– Twitter
– Link to review sites
– Video uploads
Foodie Assets

The Food
– Local, regional and pedigreed
ingredients
– Restaurants
 Fine
dining, bistro’s, historic, trendy,
ethnic, dives, etc…
Foodie Assets

The Drink
– Wineries, breweries, juices,
mineral water

Education
– Food festivals, food and wine
events, farm tours, farmers
markets, and cooking classes.
Promotional Programs
Incorporate Lodging

Act as a broker
– Packaging

Act as an agent
– Put the partners together

Act as a promoter
– Identify existing food and wine/lodging
programs
Winemaker dinners
 Food and wine festivals

Measure IT

Measure;
– Total Economic Impact
– Incremental room nights
– Incremental spending due to program
– Incremental restaurant revenue
– Special event revenue

Use internet surveys
– Capture email at registration on microsite
How to Measure

Create opt-in database to get names
– Newsletter sign-ups
– Access our videos
– Receive special offers

Use on-site measurement
techniques
– “Check stuffers”

Mailing list card and quick survey with
incentive
Calaveras Program

Create hotel guest recipe cards
 Feature local ingredients
 Highlighting restaurants
 Build Calaveras “Foodie” video library
 Local chefs preparing signature
dishes
 Locals sharing their dining secrets
 Visitor reviews
 Farmer’s and their crops
Calaveras Program
Opportunities
 Dine Calaveras countywide
dining program
 Highlight local/regional
ingredients
 Enroll restaurant “influencers” in
prixe fixe signature dish
programs
 Create value added offer tiers for
other participants
Food Frog on Twitter
How to remain a Foodie?
Baker’s Proposition
The Alcohol Fallacy
The Japanese drink very little wine but
drink excessive amounts of spirits and still
suffer fewer heart attacks than the
British or Americans….
The Italians and the French drink
excessive amounts of wine, little spirits
and suffer fewer heart attacks
than the British or Americans….
The Fat Paradox
The Japanese eat very little fat and
suffer fewer heart attacks
than the British or the Americans
The French and Italians eat a lot of
fat and also have fewer heart
attacks than the British or
Americans…
Nippon-Mediterranean Axiom

The consumption of fat and raw
fish in conjunction with
excessive amounts of alcohol
results in better coronary health
than that experienced in Britain
or America…
Baker’s Corollary
Eat and drink whatever you like…
Speaking English is
apparently what kills you!
Calaveras County
Foodie Brand
What are the core values of the
brand?
 What is the best statement that
describes the food scene in
Calaveras?

END
Calaveras County Cities








Angels Camp
Arnold
Avery
Copperopolis
Dorrington
Forest Meadows
Mokelumne Hill
Mountain Ranch









Murphys
Rail Road Flat
Rancho Calaveras
San Andreas
Sheepranch
Vallecito
Valley Springs
Wallace
West Point
Certified Central
Valley Foodie

Create a Foodie’s must see and do
map built around assets
– Restaurants, events, farm tours,
seasonal foods, education

Multi city, multi visit
– Create a Calaveras test

On-line
– Award the Central Valley Foodie
Certification
Google Reviews
Yelp sort by:
•Most reviewed
•Highest rated
•Location
Foodie Speak Regional

Beet salad mixed organic lettuces with
Point Reyes blue cheese, roasted beets
local walnuts and honey vinaigrette

Fra’ Mani sausage served with warm
bitter greens and gourmet mustard
Imperial Hotel
Grimaud Farms Crispy Duck Confit
Restaurant Taste
Foodie Speak: Just Plain Yum!

Boneless pork loin with pear and
Gorgonzola cheese stuffing. Braised and
topped with rosemary vermouth sauce
Buscaglias

Crimini and Oyster mushrooms sautéed
with oven roasted tomato pesto fresh
basil cream sauce on Penne
Grounds