Those locals are now bringing their houseguests on her company's culinary tours, introducing out-of-towners to what Ottawa has to offer.
Today, C'est Bon Cooking, which offers culinary tours and cooking classes, estimates 20 per cent of its visitors are from out of town. While it does not have specific numbers on how many people use the service a year, tours have a minimum of 10 people and are typically held three times a week in spring, summer and fall.
Tourist numbers are even higher during Winterlude, as the company has worked in association with organizers of the winter festival over the past two years.
"The idea is to have people connect directly with the chef, and the passion behind the business," Ms. St-Georges says.
"Food is all about passion, really. We're taking them into a particular business. They are tasting the cheese. They are talking to the cheesemonger. They are getting to know him."
Culinary tourism has the potential to appeal to a group of people not traditionally catered to by tourism groups in the city.
The mandate of both Ottawa Tourism and the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association is to bring in people who are booking "room nights" in hotels, which tends to have the largest economic impact.
Still, there is a shadow tourist group that comes to town and stays with family or friends. These people, although they may not be spending money in a hotel, still generally venture out for meals.
"That's the one experience that all travellers share: everybody eats," says Jantine Van Kregten, a spokesperson for Ottawa Tourism.
"Not everybody goes to the National Gallery (of Canada), not everybody goes to the cycling paths ... but every single person who comes here has to eat and drink. The question is, how can we make that experience memorable or shareable?"
Ottawa Tourism tries to do this in a few ways - by carefully sharing experiences on social media (without picking favourites), highlighting local culinary destinations such as Le Cordon Bleu, and by promoting a group called Savour Ottawa.
The initiative, led by Ottawa Tourism, community group Just Food and the City of Ottawa, has a members' list of verified local food producers.
Ottawa Tourism says it's mainly a business-to-business initiative to encourage local shops to stock more local food, connecting the producers directly with the store owners.
Some of Ottawa Tourism's packages also include experiences such as visiting Le Cordon Bleu, and the agency gets visiting travel writers to eat at locally owned restaurants to drum up business.
Anecdotally, Ms. Van Kregten says Ottawa Tourism is getting more inquiries about food, a rise she attributes to initiatives such as the 100-Mile Diet and the growing prevalence of Ottawa's neighbourhood restaurants.
Interest is so high that Algonquin College is on the cusp of offering a culinary tourism program, likely in January 2013. The program is planning to accept 50 students each year.
The college's culinary program already accepts 375 students annually for one- and two-year programs, with an additional 125 enrolling in a baking program.
"I am really happy the public is acknowledging the fact that local food is important," says David Keindel, the acting chair of culinary arts.
"I grew up on a farm and purchased locally, but it was never something that the public really did. It's now becoming mainstream."
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