The chefs, from certified Restaurants from Spain, toured a famous anchovy producer’s facilities, a cheese factory and a winery, among other delicious stops
San Sebastian Gastronomika recently ran from October 7th to the 9th in the Basque city. This event, which brings together world-class chefs, welcomed thousands of participants from 48 different countries. Among them, there were eight chefs, invited by Foods & Wines from Spain, who were able to visit the exhibition area, which congregated 160 companies this year, and take part in the different activities in the auditorium and other locations. After that, they embarked in a trip to Cantabria to meet different food and wine companies in the region. All of them carry out their work in restaurants certified with the Restaurants from Spain quality seal.
They had the opportunity to visit Conservas Arlequín in Santoña, famous for its quality anchovies, and they had dinner at Pico Velasco restaurant, where they tried Michelin-starred chef Nacho Solana’s mix of traditional and avant-garde cuisine. On the second day, they went to see Casa Campo factory, where they tried the Picón-Bejés-Tresviso PDO cheese, and they got to know all about orujo in Orulisa facilities. At night, they enjoyed a show cooking had dinner at Michelin star restaurant La Casona del Judío, owned by chef Sergio Bastard. On the third day, they visited a farm and butchery company and meat producer of Tudanca beef from Cantabria, Carnicería Quintana, and enjoyed a tour and guided wine tasting at Bodegas Miradorio.
The participant chefs came from the following restaurants: Gaudim in The Netherlands; Camino restaurants in the UK; Tres Toros in Poland; Pintxos in Denmark; Melia Koh Samui in Thailand; Pica Pica Bar in Hong Kong; Cúrate, in the US; and Tagomago in the UAE.
The purpose of this visit is for the head chefs of these restaurants to incorporate everything they have learned in order to offer an even more authentic Spanish culinary experience to their diners.
About San Sebastián Gastronomika 2024
This year’s event was particularly special as it reflected technological advances and the role of AI on the gastronomy scene. The presentations in the auditorium were next-level and participants had the unique opportunity to experience gastronomic societies firsthand.
Participating chefs included Paco Morales and Paola Gualandi, from Noor; Elena Arzak from Arzak restaurant; Eneko Atxa from Azurmendi; Joan Roca from El Celler de Can Roca; and Ricard Camarena from Ricard Camarena restaurant, among other big names from Spain and abroad.