During the “Scrumbii de Rusalii” Festival in Tulcea (29 May – 1 June 2026), we sat down with around 30 guests, journalists from Romania and Bulgaria, social-media creators, and HoReCa professionals, for a round table dedicated to a project close to our hearts: Dobrogea’s candidacy to become a European Region of Gastronomy in 2029.

The weather had other plans… Torrential rain and wind pushed us indoors. So the conversation took place at La Liman, the flagship restaurant on Tulcea’s waterfront. The hospitality of our hosts turned an unplanned change into one of the warmest moments of the festival. Moderating together were Cezar Ioan (Vinul.ro), writer and journalist Cosmin Dragomir (GastroArt), and Alex Filip, director of the “Tu și Tulcea” Destination Management Organization.

The concept, and why it starts with the land

Teodora Moraru, who represents the Flavours of Dobrogea initiative, walked us through the candidacy and its concept: “Flavours of Dobrogea: Ancient Roots, Living Waters, Timeless Taste.”

The phrase begins with geography. Dobrogea holds the Măcin Mountains, the oldest in Romania, shaped over hundreds of millions of years, and, at the other end of the landscape, the Danube Delta, the country’s youngest land, still growing today. Between the two lies a region of fertile contrasts: steppe and water, lakes and sea, vineyards and reed beds, villages and cities, nature and heritage. That relationship between people, territory and natural resources sits at the foundation of everything we are building.

She wasn’t speaking in the abstract. Beside Teodora was Bianca Folescu, the entrepreneur behind the traditional homestead “Suvenir din Dobrogea” and a living example of what this project looks like on the ground. She shared a few of her own initiatives: small, hands-on ways of giving anyone curious about the region a real reason to visit, and then to come back.

The title itself is awarded by IGCAT (the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism) to regions that use food as a tool for economic, cultural and social development. Sibiu earned it in 2019; Harghita follows in 2027 and Banat in 2028. Dobrogea is aiming for 2029, and the bid book behind it is evaluated by an international jury and opens the door to a collaborative network supported by partners such as the European Commission, UNESCO, Lonely Planet, National Geographic and BBC Good Food.

What we actually talked about

The project is initiated by the Uniunea Națională a Patronatelor – Regiunea Sud-Est, together with Tu si Tulcea, Eco Delta Dunării destination organizations and more partners across the regional consortium. On paper it brings together more than 60 local producers and the 14 ethnic communities that call Dobrogea home. The harder question is how to turn that on paper into something a visitor can actually taste.

Our answer, and the heart of the discussion, was simple: bring restaurants and producers to the same table. Concretely, we talked about restaurants committing to feature four or five genuinely Dobrogean dishes on their menus, and about two tools we believe would make participation realistic rather than aspirational, a Guide of Good Practices and a well-documented Base Recipe Book. Both would be aimed first at restaurants, but useful to the wider public too, and both would make it far easier to recruit HoReCa partners and implement the project well.

An honest conversation, on purpose

We also played devil’s advocate, deliberately. A title is only as strong as the experience behind it, so we asked ourselves the uncomfortable questions early. 

Is the local, seasonal food culture widespread enough among everyday HoReCa staff, beyond the dedicated local-gastronomy points and themed restaurants? 

Can we recruit enough venues that are both willing and truly able to serve a growing number of demanding visitors? 

Will the project generate enough real business for partners to stay engaged, not only during the spotlight, but after it? 

And can we promote it widely and accurately, so expectations match what guests will find on the plate?

These aren’t reasons for doubt. They are the work itself, and naming them now is how we keep the project honest.

To check in more detail about the questions and their answers can check here: https://vinul.ro/teo-moraru-flavours-of-dobrogea-regiune-gastronomica-europeana.html

Beyond gastronomy, it’s about people

If there’s one idea we kept returning to, it’s that the title is not the real prize. Over recent months the candidacy has brought together people who had never worked in the same room (teachers, researchers, fishers, farmers, producers, entrepreneurs, and representatives of administration, culture and tourism) around a shared vision for the place they call home.

As Teodora put it, this is “an invitation to Europe to discover Dobrogea through its flavours” and just as much an invitation to the region’s own people to look with new confidence at the heritage they already hold.

(The photos in this blog were taken by Dragoș Bălășoiu)