Feast for the senses will bring £2.4m boost to Edinburgh

Edinburgh is in line to be served a £2.4 million economic boost after being selected to host a major conference focusing on the effects that food and drink have on the senses.

Chef Mark Greenaway backed Edinburgh's bid to host the Pangborn Sensory Symposium. Picture: Ian Rutherford

More than 1,000 sensory science specialists from around the world are expected to attend the next biennial Pangborn Sensory Symposium, to be held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) in July 2019.

The symposium has previously set up shop in Gothenburg, Sweden, and organisers have just announced it will be coming to Edinburgh following this month’s event in Rhode Island, USA.

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Professor Joanne Hort, Fonterra-Riddet chair of consumer and sensory science at Massey University, New Zealand, said: “We’re looking forward to bringing the 13th International Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium to the historic city of Edinburgh.

“It is the foremost symposium for sensory and consumer scientists in the world and in 2019 we will be exploring how, in our ever-changing society, we can adapt to meet the challenges of the future.”

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The EICC and Convention Edinburgh, the organisation tasked with promoting the Capital as a conference destination, teamed up on the bid to secure the 2019 symposium following a call for applications from across the globe. Local food and drink companies and restaurateurs, including Mark Greenaway, supported the proposal with creative ideas to fit in with the theme of the sensory dining experience.

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Amanda Ferguson, head of business tourism at Convention Edinburgh, said: “From collaborating on the bid submission and arranging site visits, to bringing on board local food heroes like chef Mark Greenaway and organisations such as the Edinburgh Science Festival, Marketing Edinburgh is delighted to have played an integral role in securing this prestigious global event. Edinburgh is a city of food-lovers with more restaurants per head than any anywhere else in the UK; I’m sure the Pangborn delegates will feel right at home.”

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Latest figures show that Scotland’s food and drink exports rose 11 per cent to £1.2 billion in the first three months of this year, with whisky and salmon topping the UK export chart. Some 119,000 people work directly in the sector, which is worth just over £14bn in annual revenues.

EICC boss Marshall Dallas said: “Together with our catering partner Leith’s, the EICC prides itself on a world-class food and drink offering and one that meets the highest standards in sustainability and environmental impact.”

He added: “We’re extremely pleased to bring a global industry event like the Pangborn Symposium to the city and it’s really a testament to the fantastic team effort that went on behind the scenes.”

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