The Gastrónoma fair ends on a high note, winning over Valencia with the help of great chefs and the latest trends and innovations in food and catering.
In total, over 20,000 trade professionals from all over Spain visited the most important food fair in the Mediterranean, whose third day featured presentations by José Andrés, Quique Dacosta, Joan Roca and Ángel León, among others.
Valencia, 12 November 2019 – Gastrónoma ends its fifth fair on a high note with excellent results. Since last Sunday, over 20,000 people from all over Spain have visited the Mediterranean’s most important food fair and have attended some of the many presentations given at the event which has 13 different areas.
Over three days, visitors have filled the over 13,000 square metres of the Gastrónoma fair in search of the latest trends, innovations and plenty of free, top-quality content. The event was attended by food industry experts, students and the general public with an interest in gourmet food.
Today, the conference section of Gastrónoma was full to capacity during the presentation of the chefs Quique Dacosta, Joan Roca and Ángel León. These three culinary geniuses offered their interpretation of cooking prawns. Prior to this, Spanish Open University biologist Miguel Ángel Civera gave a talk on the subject, and Joan Roca, from the Celler de Can Roca, cooked some grilled and boiled prawns from the Palamós area. Ángel León, from Aponiente, prepared some white prawns from Cádiz in salt, and Quique Dacosta paid tribute to nougat and almond blossoms from Alicante with red prawns from Denia.
The Central Kitchen – The Exquisite Space also brought together hundreds of people during the presentation given by José Andrés, one of the most eagerly awaited chefs at this year’s Gastrónoma. In it, he presented his new project, Minibar, and urged professionals to broaden their minds, and not to be afraid to experiment and innovate as he has done with the freeze-drying concept.
All the presentations at Gastrónoma have been a huge success. One example is the “Valencia D.O. Rice Room”, in which Cristina Figueira, from the El Xato restaurant (1 Michelin star and 1 Repsol sun), participated in a presentation in which she claimed rice as a symbol of identity, or that of Miguel Ángel Mayor, from the Sucede restaurant (1 Michelin star and 1 Repsol sun), who put together his version of some traditional rice dishes. Be Sweet also filled its training room with cooking shows by Joanna Artieda, Pachi Larrea and Libertad Santiago. Meanwhile, on the stage of #pandeverdad, Xavi Barriga’s presentation captivated the audience with his handmarked Vienna bread.
Gastrónoma ended the afternoon with the presentation of the Gastrónoma – Espai Gastronòmic awards, which are given to food-related tourism initiatives and which reward three projects that aim to boost tourism, one in each of the region’s provinces. The winners were the Castellon Tourism Board for its Ruta de Sabor project (Flavour route), which highlights the premium quality of local products; the Vega Baja Business Association which, following the recent floods, has been working to regenerate the area as quickly as possible and revive the tourism industry; and the Valencia Marina Business Association, for all the work it is doing to create a destination in a place like the Marina and out of living by the sea.
This was the finishing touch to this year’s Gastrónoma, which has won over professionals and the public alike, and aims to continue to grow and consolidate its status as the Mediterranean’s best and most important food fair.
Gastrónoma is backed by the Valencian Regional Government and the Provincial Councils of Alicante, Castellon and Valencia. It is organised by Feria Valencia, with the support of the leading industry associations and the cooperation of the Valencian Region’s top chefs.
