Techniques such as spherification, foams, or liquid nitrogen are increasingly common in haute cuisine. However, quality cuisine is not possible without good quality local products and, if possible, zero-kilometer products. San Miguel GastroFest Km0, the gastronomic festival where music and gastronomy meet in the Plaza Mayor of Poble Espanyol this weekend, seeks to highlight the importance of these local Catalan ingredients. During the festival, more than 20 traditional and more avant-garde proposals can be tasted, including local ingredients such as Delta del Ebro rice, Pota Blava chicken, Prades potatoes, or cheeses from l'Alt Urgell and Cerdanya.
In addition to these proposals, with ingredients from the main Catalan Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications, the festival will also be complemented with workshops, showcookings by renowned chefs to see up close how a haute cuisine dish is prepared, and live music. The offer also includes a Great Calçotada, where you can enjoy calçots from the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park, with panoramic views of the city of Barcelona.
Local dishes
In total, 22 gastronomic proposals from 11 Catalan restaurants can be tasted, such as Barcelona restaurants Casa Xica, which will offer Delta del Ebro rice, but Cantonese style with mushrooms and kimchi, as well as a beef brioche; Fran López's Pota Blava chicken cannelloni with truffled béchamel, in addition to his oysters, or the okonomiyaki ---the Japanese omelet--- with Valls calçots from Osaka Bang, which also offers octopus takoyakis.
Prades potatoes will also be another of the festival's star ingredients, which can be tasted in the octopus suquet with potatoes and beans from El Pòsit restaurant (Cambrils), or in the patatas bravas with Pyrenean sobrasada prepared by Cuc Bar by El Sisè (Lleida). Other essentials of Catalan gastronomy are calçots, which will also be found in the veal kid proposed by El Xef de l'Arcà, or Vic's longaniza, the protagonist of the longaniza tartar from Xinvic Gastrobar (Vic).
Nuts, although sometimes overlooked, are essential for adding a special touch to dishes, especially if they are ingredients like the Reus hazelnut, which will give the necessary flavor to dishes such as pork ribs with sweet and sour sauce from Les Nenes Bar (Canet de Mar), or the cuttlefish sandwich with aioli from l'Hac Restaurant (Vilanova i la Geltrú) or the noodles sautéed with satay sauce from Arnau París's Specials restaurant.
Tickets and opening hours
The dishes can be tasted at affordable prices, ranging from six to ten euros, although to access the venue it is also necessary to have a ticket, which includes access to Poble Espanyol during the day (Saturday 8 or Sunday 9). The festival will open its doors on Saturday at 12 pm and can be enjoyed uninterrupted until midnight, and on Sunday the hours will be from 12 pm to 10 pm. The calçotada menu will be offered Saturday and Sunday from 12 pm to 5 pm and will have an initial price of 25 euros, which includes admission to the venue.
Beyond the dishes: workshops, showcookings and live music
In addition to its gastronomic offer, the festival also offers an extensive parallel program during the weekend at Poble Espanyol. On the one hand, during both days prestigious chefs will gather, such as the Torres Brothers, who hold three Michelin stars; Carlota Claver, from La Gormanda restaurant; Fran López, from Villa Retiro, and Arnau París, winner of the Masterchef 9 contest.
In the Cuina.cat classroom, within the Poble Espanyol enclosure, there will also be oil tastings from different denominations such as L'Empordà, Baix Ebre or Terra Alta, and San Miguel beer tastings, sponsor of the event. In addition, during the festival, gastronomy will merge with music by DJs such as Sergi Shine & Marco Sonoro · MaambO!, with their Afro-Latin music proposal, or La Frizz, with their selection of funk, indie and electronic music.