A spokesperson for Fogo Island Inn, a community-owned social business, says the company looks forward to learning from its fellow Relais & Châteaux members and sharing its experience in operating a place-based, regenerative enterprise that affects positive change in its community. In the context of increasing consolidation and corporatization of the travel industry, the union calls attention to the value of independent, unique, and owner-led hospitality establishments. Fogo Island Inn continues to be a pillar of economic development for its community, and the Relais & Châteaux association offers a global network of places that practice hospitality that genuinely values local nature and culture.
Fogo Island Inn and Relais & Châteaux also share the belief that food is a powerful expression of culture. As contemporary interpreters of Fogo Island’s history and traditions, Fogo Island Inn’s culinary team innovates with hyper-local produce and seafood and pays homage to traditional outport Newfoundland foodways. With Relais & Châteaux, the Inn joins a collective of some of the best tables in the world that honour and preserve place through cuisine.
Relais & Châteaux believes that “humanity, rich in its differences, shares and transmits to each generation, everywhere in the world, two traditions: food and hospitality. These two traditions have always contributed to the art of living and peace in the world. The table and hospitality must, therefore, and permanently, be both preserved and revitalized to continue to play this essential role in living well together.” Fogo Island Inn will be the first Relais & Châteaux partner from Newfoundland and Labrador, joining British Columbia, Alberta, Québec, and Ontario, as Canadian leaders forging an international reputation for world-class hospitality.