Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, from the stoves to what is cooking behind the kitchen

The Catalan capital prepares to host the main autumn event for hospitality professionals. A hundred speakers and more than 300 exhibiting companies will participate in the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, which will be held in hall 8 of the Montjuïc exhibition center on November 7, 8, and 9. The objective is to showcase the latest trends in food, beverages, and equipment for restaurateurs and to debate how cuisine can become even more involved in central issues such as sustainability and social commitment. This year, the central theme of the Forum will be to talk about everything that goes on behind the stoves, with a highlighted critical element being the training and management of the people who work in restaurants.

"Once again, restoration professionals will reunite in the great family of the Forum," highlights gastronome Pep Palau, founder of the Fòrum Gastronòmic brand together with Jaume von Arend. Both started this adventure in 1999 with the celebration of the first Fòrum Gastronòmic in Vic, a hybrid event that combines congress-style presentations with live cooking demonstrations and an exhibition area where small local suppliers and producers have always been protagonists.

After being organized over these more than 20 years in other cities such as Girona, Santiago de Compostela, and A Coruña, the Fòrum Gastronòmic consolidates as an event that will only be held from now on in Barcelona ---where it first arrived in 2014---, transformed into the new Gastronomic Forum Barcelona and in association with Alimentaria Exhibitions, a Fira de Barcelona company. The idea is for the event to be held every year during November to put on the table "the keys to the current gastronomic landscape," as explained by Josep Alcaraz, the event's director.

Alcaraz anticipates that this year's edition expects to gather some 20,000 professional visitors and that the number of exhibiting companies will grow by 15%, with the presence of brands such as Damm, Bidfood, Tupinamba, Collverd, Sosa, and Cuinats Jotri, among other reference suppliers for the hospitality sector. They will occupy an exhibition area of about 18,000 square meters.

"For kitchen professionals, it is very important to have a space like the Forum where we can share our experiences and learn. There is no other event in Catalonia that has a program like this, which allows us, above all, to learn from colleagues," emphasizes Eduard Xatruch, one of the chef-owners of the Barcelona restaurant Disfrutar, considered the third best in the world. "It is a source of pride that a country at the forefront of cuisine also has a leading forum like the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, I want to thank it on behalf of all chefs," he points out.

Xatruch, accompanied by his partners, Oriol Castro and Mateu Casañas, will be in charge of closing the Forum's activities on Wednesday, November 9, with a session titled Creativity in its purest state, in the kitchen and in liquid gastronomy. Other renowned chefs who will also participate in the activities are Joan Roca (Roca Universe, emotional revolution); Quique Dacosta (Cooking beauty); Paco Pérez (The chef, the entrepreneur and the brand); Javier and Sergio Torres (A kitchen with a restaurant); Nandu Jubany (Jubany, a brand that builds loyalty); Albert Boronat (Culinary classicism); Jordi Vilà (Artisan and contemporary Catalan cuisine); Ricard Camarena and Victor Quintilla (People, at the center of innovation in the restaurant); Rodrigo de la Calle (Vegetal nature and creativity), Alexandre Mazzia (Journey through the diversity of haute cuisine), Emile Van der Staak (The Era of plants in the kitchen) or René Mahieu (Vegetal passion).

One of the central areas of the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona 2022 will be Espai Catalunya, where more than one hundred small producers will be represented. "We must not stop asserting that food is a strategic sector for the economy of Catalonia, for the health of people, the health of the planet and the health of landscapes," explains Ramon Sentmartí, managing director of Prodeca, who also emphasizes that there is increasing awareness of the need for all links in the food chain to be able to earn a sufficient living.

In the InnoForum space, some thirty new products will be presented, showcasing the latest trends, especially in gourmet products made with sustainable and socially responsible awareness and also adapted to new consumer needs. To highlight the growing awareness in the sector, one of the thematic blocks of the programmed activities will address "the transformative power of cooking" and how a restaurant can contribute "to changing the world."

There will also be sessions dedicated to women's empowerment in the kitchen, and workshops on liquid gastronomy, zero waste, green haute cuisine, or pastry, with references such as Jordi Butron and Oriol Balaguer. In the FòrumLab space, the topic of front-of-house service will be debated (People, at the service of people) and the Science & Cooking World Congress will be held, organized by the University of Barcelona under the motto Humanism, cuisine and sustainability.

For the first time, within the framework of the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, the Foodture event will also take place, promoted by the Barcelona Design Center (BCD) and Plat Institute, which reaches its fourth edition with the aim of showcasing the discipline within the design sector that works for culinary professionals. Participants will include Swiss designer Luki Huber ---collaborator of Ferran Adrià at elBulli--- and bartender Giacomo Giannotti, owner of Paradiso, the best cocktail bar in the world. Another aspect that Foodture will address is circular design, with a round table on the transformation of waste into new products.

The extensive program of the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona not only accommodates great chefs who are at the helm of Michelin-starred restaurants, but also emphasizes small emerging restaurateurs and modest local culinary experiences that can become the references of the future. Alapar (Barcelona), Monte (Asturias), Fuentelgato (Cuenca), Landua (A Coruña), Islares (Bilbao) and Tohqa (Cádiz) are some of the restaurants that will explain their project.

This confluence of established and emerging chefs makes the Forum a powerful networking tool for all professionals visiting the show, according to its organizers. For three days, Fira de Barcelona will also be the chosen setting to present the Slowfood Barcelona 2022 Guide and announce the winners of various reference awards, such as the Josep Mercader 2022 Award, the Foodture Sustainable Innovation Award, the Best Artisan Panettone in Spain award, and the best Catalan chef of the year award. The six candidates to receive this distinction are Fran Agudo (MontBar, Barcelona); Adrià Bou (Terram, Girona); Jaume Marambio & Vicky Maccarone (Alapar, Barcelona); Manu Núñez & Carles Ramon (Besta, Barcelona); Lluc Quintana (Can Xapers, Cornellà de Terri); and Jordi Tarré (Prodigi, Barcelona).