Confraternities and Confreres Promoting Gastronomic Identity and Local Products

Abstract

Considering gastronomy as a source of expression of local culture, its use in tourism can contribute to enhancing and adding value to the destination, as well as encourage the pride of the local community, stimulating its production and consumption, and its dissemination outside the region. Bucho Raiano is a gastronomic product of identity and representativeness for the inland border region of Portugal (Riba Côa), for which its confraternity seeks the dissemination, the promotion of its consumption, and enhancement as a cultural resource. Gastronomic cofraternities play an important role in disseminating, promoting, and defending the agri-food products and quality gastronomy of a particular region, maintaining the historical legacy of the customs and respective peoples or regions, and contributing to the cultural and tourism valorisation of the territories to increase the tourists. Thus, this research aims to contextualize the Confraria do Bucho Raiano as a case study, its strategies and contributions to the promotion and enhancement of this gastronomic product.