Viktoria Darabi
Profile
JP | BA(Hons) | CertIVTAE | DipEventMgmt | MGastTourism
CULINARY TOURISM WHISPERER & CRUSADER
RESIDENT CULINARY TOURISM GASTRONOMER – Championing Western Sydney Food Culture
Viktoria is a Food Culture Tourism Consultant specialising in the Culinary Tourism, Events and Hospitality industries. She is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu’s Masters of Gastronomic Tourism and a US James Beard Foundation Scholarship recipient.
Over the last 20 years she has been a resident, proactive champion, advocate, mentor and coach for small business in Western Sydney. Along the way, she has developed relationships with stakeholders in government – Tourism, Economic Development and Place Making – and in the NGO and private sectors of tourism and artisan food and beverage production.
On her own initiative she conceived, gained sponsorship and produced the ‘Huey’s Kitchen in the Hawkesbury’ event to help promote the Hawkesbury and the Farmgate Trail, and was the founder of the Hawkesbury Artists and Artisans Trail & the Hawkesbury Antiques Trail.
Now, in addition to working on her own two start-ups in the background, she provides specialist Food & Beverage, Tourism, Events, Marketing and Disruption Advisory for NSW’s Business Connect Program, has provided specialist advisory for COVID and bushfire affected communities on the south coast of NSW and volunteers for the board of Taste Cultural Food Tours – Western Sydney’s only food tour enterprise and is Community Reference Group member for the Powerhouse and Civic Square developments in Parramatta.
By combining her skills in Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Tourism and Gastronomy, she helps SMEs, NGOs, LGAs, DMOs and clusters showcase their regions’ distinctiveness by leveraging their food and drink culture, producers, agriculture, food heroes, culinary tourism trends and experiences for profits.
Her skills, passion and more than three decades of experience as both a small business owner/operator and corporate contractor, is wholly focused on bringing together – people, food trends, tourism, events and marketing in innovative ways to mitigate disruption, foster economic development and build social cohesion in communities.
ENGAGE – EMPOWER – INSPIRE – ENERGISE
Experience
In early 2018 Viktoria completed a Le Cordon Bleu Master of Gastronomic Tourism which combined the academic disciplines of Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Tourism and Gastronomy thus giving her a deep understanding of food and drink and tourism business management skills. This also maximised her capacity to use the latest theoretical and cultural understanding of food and drink in context and in the practical pursuit of commercial objectives in business enterprises.
Her high-spirited approach, enthusiasm, energetic and passionate communication style keeps people engaged. Seeing change as invigorating, pitching fresh ideas, generating new approaches to problems gives her the ability to engage, empower, inspire and energise stakeholders with a vision. Viktoria builds team spirit through deploying EQ, collaboration and by being receptive to other’s ideas.
Viktoria’s insights, knowledge of food culture trends and role as crusader for culinary tourism make her an excellent speaker for small business, government and community groups keen to uncover the opportunities for economic, social, cultural and destination development within.
“Not only is Viktoria passionate about food and the role it plays in our lives, but also in her approach to helping others. She has been unstintingly generous with her advice in assisting me with the marketing for my new cooking school. She has led me to connections, directories and information that has greatly enhanced my approach to building my business and its presence in the marketplace. I can’t thank her enough for her assistance.” Jennie Thompson, Director, The Cooks Workshop
“Viktoria has been a great supporter of Taste Tours, and our work as a charity and food tour business. She initially provided assistance as an advisor and mentor, eventually joining the Board at the 2017 AGM. Viktoria is sharp and intelligent, diligent and hard working. She provides a high level framework for understanding the why and how of what we do, and will put in the hard yards to make things happen. She is bold and enthusiastic and not shy of putting in the hours it takes to do things properly. She makes things happen, and she does that very well.” Lesley Unsworth, CEO, Taste Food Tours
Topics include;
- Waking the Culinary Tourism Sleeping Giant
- Building an Eat Street/Dining Precinct Collab from Ground Zero
- Building a Food and/or Beverage Trail Collab from Ground ZeroHow to Build a Culinary Tourism Industry in your Region/Town from Ground Zero
- Mega Trends and the Future of Food Travel
- How to Market Culinary Tourism in world of Changed Attitudes to Food & Tourism
- Leveraging Culinary Tourism for Small Business Empowerment and Investment Attraction
- Your Region’s/Town’s Food Culture: Staking a Claim and Owning a Corner of their Minds