by TIM CRAIG
Sponsored by Visit Central Florida
The next time tourists get ready for a Central Florida vacation, they may want to pack a knife and fork alongside their trunks and sunscreen.
According to Grand View Research, culinary tourism was an estimated $2.7 billion industry in 2024 and is expected to grow nearly 20 percent over the next five years. If Polk County’s tourism board has anything to do with it, many of those culinary tourists will spend their time in Polk County.
Culinary pilgrims want to find new places, enjoy new experiences, and be the first to share them on social media, says Mark Jackson, the Director of Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing.
“We feel that Polk County is the perfect market for these folks,” Jackson says. “There’s no reason why the food scene in Polk County has to be a best-kept secret.”
Visit Central Florida launched the Polk County Culinary Initiative in 2023 to begin to bridge the gap between the people who produce the food and the people who serve it. The group has hosted gatherings between restaurateurs, farmers and others looking to create a synergy for partnerships and increasing local food scene awareness.
The program adopts aspects from similar farm-to-folk initiatives from around the country and gives them a uniquely Polk County focus.
“All we’re doing is highlighting what we have to offer,” says Jackson. “At the same time, we have a generation growing up that is removed from farm life. Farmers are more than just a need; they are the cornerstone on which our society is built.”
With its unique heritage of cattle, citrus and agriculture, as well as its blending of ethnicities throughout its history — thanks to the railroad and other industries — Polk County’s flavors defy traditional culinary definitions.
Research by Visit Florida shows that localized “farm-to-fork experiences” are the highest-rated activities for tourists.
That fits perfectly for the Polk County Culinary Initiative, which is held up by three “pillars,” according to Kris Keprios, Visit Central Florida’s senior tourism sales and marketing manager: farm to fork, barbecue, and culinary experiences.
To help stimulate the farm-to-fork pillar, Visit Central Florida hosted several events to facilitate conversations between the agriculture and restaurant industries. Those conversations helped create a network that connects farmers and food producers with restaurants. It is now easier for restaurants and producers to find, promote, and benefit each other.
All over the South — but particularly in Florida — barbecue brings people together. In Polk County, Visit Central Florida has partnered with Whiskey Bent BBQ’s Chad Ward — dubbed the Czar of Char — to spearhead the “Triple Crown of BBQ.” This unique event links three popular annual Polk County barbecue events — Lakeland’s Pigfest, Davenport’s Grills Gone Wild, and Haines City’s Ribs on the Ridge — and provides broad national-level exposure for not only Polk County but also for the cattlemen and the competitors.
The Triple Crown of Barbecue makes Polk County the only place in Florida where there are three top-level Kansas City Barbecue-judged events.
“Our research shows that travelers crave authentic experiences in authentic destinations,” says Keprios. “We are blessed that, with our diverse farms and our local food scenes from around the county, we already have both.
“The Polk County Culinary Initiative allows us to meet with producers and providers and learn about what each of us has to offer. After that, we’ll do what we do best: Tell the world about it.”
