The Food Capitals by Délice Network is delighted to welcome the City of Portoviejo (Ecuador) as a new member of its international network as of March 2026. Through this membership, Portoviejo will collaborate in global food policy dialogue, share its rich culinary heritage, and further strengthen initiatives in sustainability and culinary tourism.
Capital of the Manabí province in western Ecuador, Portoviejo is home to more than 300,000 inhabitants and is a major economic hub whose activities center around commerce, agriculture, and transportation. The city, shaped over centuries by the Portoviejo River, has grown into one of the country’s most important urban centers.
Widely recognised as the epicentre of Manabita cuisine, Portoviejo proudly carries the title of “Gastronomic Capital of Ecuador.” Manabita cuisine has been declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ecuador and is renowned for being among the most sophisticated and diverse culinary traditions in the country. Portoviejo is currently the only Ecuadorian city to hold the designation of UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the Gastronomy category.
Thanks to its privileged location near the Pacific coast and fertile agricultural lands, Portoviejo benefits from an extraordinary diversity of seafood and agricultural products. Local cuisine preserves ancestral pre-Columbian traditions, including wood-fire cooking and the use of the traditional earthen oven (horno manabita). Through these enduring practices, the people of Portoviejo continue to honor and transmit their history through food.
Iconic dishes include viche de pescado (a rich peanut and fish soup), corviche (plantain dough stuffed with fish), tonga manabita (rice and chicken or fish wrapped in banana leaf), bollo de pescado, and distinctive ceviches manabitas, which differ markedly from Andean variations. The inauguration of the city’s modern Central Market in 2021 further demonstrates Portoviejo’s commitment to promoting and celebrating its culinary identity.
Today, Portoviejo is leveraging gastronomy as both a cultural asset and a strategic tool for sustainable development. By promoting culinary tourism, encouraging innovation, and protecting its environment and heritage, the city aims to strengthen its local food ecosystem. Beyond tourism, gastronomy represents a powerful economic driver.
“We seek to transform the local food supply chain into an engine for entrepreneurial growth, generating added value and improving the quality of life for our citizen” said Javier Humberto Pincay Salvatierra, Mayor of Portoviejo. “As a member of The Food Capitals, we aim to actively collaborate in global policy planning, share our rich cultural experience, and enhance integrated activities related to sustainability and culinary tourism.”
Portoviejo now joins other Latin American member cities of The Food Capitals network, including Cali (Colombia), Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), Puebla (Mexico), and Trinidad (Bolivia), becoming the network’s first member city in Ecuador.
Photo credits: © Gobierno Autónomo Descentralizado Municipal del Cantón Portoviejo
