La Rambla once again becomes a showcase of the best Barcelona gastronomy, with its already traditional culinary exhibition from June 6 to 9. And it will do so in a special edition for a double reason: in addition to being the tenth edition of the event, it will be linked to the America's Cup, approaching the cuisine of the 12 nationalities that will compete in the regatta.
Temporarily banished from Rambla Santa Mònica by the works that will renovate the city's most iconic avenue, Tast a la Rambla will once again be held for the second consecutive year in Plaza Catalunya. Following the morphology of the square, the fair will be organized with a central core where the restaurant proposals will be located, among which are Nandu Jubany's croquettes; chickpeas with scarlet prawns by Txema Martínez, from Bodega Amposta; Coya's beef empanadas with garlic sauce, and Casa Xica's crispy Cantonese pork popcorn. Orbiting the gastronomic island located in the center of the square, the institutions and sponsors of the event will be arranged, participating with tastings and activities that will bring together about thirty professionals.
After ten years, the event maintains its foundational objective: to attract Barcelona residents to the most emblematic street in their city, as recalled by the president of Amics de La Rambla, Pau Bosch, at the presentation of the event in La Boqueria. "It is in the DNA of La Rambla to be the most hospitable street in the city," something that Tast a la Rambla has wanted to align with the great sporting event that the city will host this summer: the America's Cup.
The gastronomic fair and the competition will intertwine through various proposals included in the Cultural Regatta designed by the City Council. One of the highlights will be the gastronomic exhibition of the 12 countries that will participate in the competition. To bring their cuisine closer to Barcelona residents, chef Albert Ventura's Vrava restaurant has prepared 12 tapas, with flavors such as Swedish meatballs with tomato sauce, bread toast with lamb rillette and Australia's own macadamia nut, and a sweet strawberry and cream pavlova also typical of New Zealand.
In addition to tasting the gastronomy of the 12 participants through these tapas, a showcooking day coordinated by Lasarte restaurant chef Paolo Casagrande, along with chefs from the teams that will compete in the America's Cup, will be offered, who will explain how sailors eat to prepare for the competition.
However, the tasting of the culture of the 12 America's Cup countries will go beyond gastronomy: the stage that will be located in Plaza Catalunya will program musical and cultural performances around these countries, such as Maori dances and a Swiss chocolate children's workshop.
The space will also be the setting for musical proposals outside of the America's Cup. And it is that Tast a la Rambla aims to attract Barcelonians with its gastronomic proposal, but also to make them stay to "enjoy the event a little longer, beyond the food". To do this, in this tenth edition, the event expands the tasting area, with more tables and chairs in the shade of the trees in Plaza Catalunya. This was announced by Jordi Parra, general director of Tast a la Rambla and the GSR group, in a presentation alongside Deputy Mayor Jordi Valls, chef Nandu Jubany, and the president of the La Boqueria Merchants Association, Jorge Mas, as well as Pau Bosch.
The Escribà family, first Tast a la Rambla Award
In addition, the event has "a very dense program of activities", with more workshops and showcookings, such as the one starring chef Raül Balam Ruscalleda, as well as wine tastings and a novelty: the Tast a la Rambla Award, which will honor figures who work for gastronomy and turn it into a social, cultural and artistic meeting point.
In this first edition, the award has gone not to a person, but to an entire family: that of the Escribàs, for having linked Barcelona with the best pastry. Chef Albert Adrià will present the award during the fair's inaugural act to Joan, Jordi, Pol and Christian Escribà and their mother, Jocelyne Tholoniat, for their contribution to the sector from Pastisseria Escribà, founded on La Rambla in 1906, then under the name Can Serra.
In addition, the organization has set out to highlight the restaurants that participate recurrently in the event. To do this, it has promoted a distinctive badge that will indicate the establishments that are regulars of the already traditional gastronomic festival, an event with "soul" that is inspired by the gastronomic fairs held in Catalan regions, according to Nandu Jubany.
Drawing from this model, the event was born ten years ago to "recover the pride of La Rambla and show what La Rambla brings to the city," as Valls has defended. Tast a la Rambla thus appeals to Barcelonians to visit their most emblematic and international street, with a proposal that, according to Jorge Mas, serves at the same time to "democratize high gastronomy" and bring it closer to all citizens.