The St. James Way of Podillya (Camino Podolico) team together with specialists embarked on the expedition to research the intangible (in particular, gastronomic) heritage of the cultural route, and also conducted workshops in 10 communities of Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi regions.

As a part of the project «The way must go on», which was awarded grant funding by the European Heritage Days with the support of the Council of Europe and the European Commission activities are being done to restore cultural-educational and pilgrimage route from Vinnytsia to Kamianets-Podilskyi – Camino Podolico, its research and popularization thanks to the gastronomic component.

In total, the expedition covered five communities in Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi regions: Hnivan, Brailiv, Zhmerynka, Severynivka, Bar, Vinkivtsi, Zinkiv, Maliivtsi, Dunaivtsi and Kamianets-Podilskyi. In each of them, there was a meeting with local coordinators, a study of the gastronomic heritage, workshops from the authentic local cuisine masters on cooking Podillya dishes, as well as photo- and video recording for promotional materials. Currently the development of the Camino Podolico gastronomic catalog has begun, which will be released and presented in various cities of Ukraine next month.

«Camino Podolico runs for more than 250 kilometers through Podillya settlements which have very rich heritage. Gastronomy takes up a special place there, which is what we wanted to emphasize with our project. During trips to the communities, our team collected information about dishes and filmed the process of cooking Podillya cuisine. Thus, the Camino Podolico gastro catalog will include at least 25 traditional recipes in Ukrainian and English. Among them are white borscht prepared in Maliivtsi, Voroshyliv tripes cooked from the stomach of a young calf in Hnivan, holubtsi (cabbage rolls) with pork ribs from the times of Queen Bona in Bar or, for example, pickled cucumbers stew in Brailiv and many other interesting dishes of local cuisine», – said Svitlana Tsyhankova, head of tourism development division of the department of city marketing and tourism.

In addition, partners from the "Center for Strategic Territorial Development" conducted 10 practical workshops to initiate European Heritage Days in communities. Participants were invited to develop ideas for workshops, excursions, presentations or any other events through which they could present the living heritage of their villages and towns. Information was also collected on the existing intangible heritage that should be preserved and passed on to future generations.

«Due to the aggression against Ukraine, we postponed the official season of Saint James way of Podillya for an indefinite period. But a large number of travelers continue to write to us and ask us to resume the pilgrimage. The communities also have a great interest in the development of the route, which we saw during the expedition. So, in order to preserve the potential and give the communities the opportunity to develop, to work on preserving their heritage, we continue to work on the project despite all the challenges of today. In June of this year, Camino Podolico was accepted into the European Federation of Saint James Way. And next year, when St. James Way of Podillya receives certification and enters the European network of routes to Santiago de Compostela, we hope for its restoration through the efforts of all involved communities», – said Oleksandr Vesheleni, director of department of city marketing and tourism.