Sustainable Food

The new edition of the Barcelona Gastronomic Forum, which will be held in palace 8 of Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc venue from 6 to 8 November, will showcase the world of gastronomy’s commitment to sustainability, protecting biodiversity and promoting the social transformation.

To do so, many of the more than 100 participating chefs will present their initiatives related to the use of local products, the revival of traditional cooking methods and the fight against food waste, among many other timely issues.

This year, the restaurants participating in the forum together have more than 55 classic Michelin stars and 11 green Michelin stars, which recognise establishments that are working to preserve the environment through efficient resource management and lower waste.

The organic, local Metropolitan Market Classroom

One highlight of this year’s edition is the Metropolitan Market Classroom promoted by the Barcelona City Council, AMB and Mercabarna.

This space will host 14 displays of organic, local producers in the Barcelona metropolitan area who are part of the metropolitan market. Likewise, there will also be a wide array of activities featuring the participation of prestigious chefs, livestock farmers and professional farmers or fishers, who will cook live or debate the present and future of sustainable gastronomy and biodiversity.

The restaurant professionals include Xavier Pellicer, Laura Veraguas, Paolo Casagrande and Joan Capilla, and the organisations include La Platjeta, the Fundació Cuina Justa and the Associació Mescladís, among many others.

They will be working in conjunction with Slow Food Barcelona and the Joint Office for Sustainable Food (OCAS).

New culinary trends

The forum will also highlight the transformative power of cooking by giving a voice to international women chefs who propose working models that stress a work-life balance and integration in restaurants, including the Danish chef Kamilla Seidler, at the helm of Lola restaurant in Copenhagen, and the Belgian chef Joke Michiel, from Souvenir restaurant in Ghent.

The use of fire as a cooking method, which is trending in professional cooking, will be another topic spotlighted, as well as professionals’ experiences around the new foodways, which revive traditional food preserves and promote conservation techniques that are unfamiliar in our culinary culture.

Recognition of talent

As always, emerging chefs will also play a prominent role in the forum, which will host the final round of the 2023 Barcelona Gastronomic Forum Chef Award. The finalists are Rafa Panatieri and Jorge Sastre (Brabo and Sartoria Panatieri in Barcelona, the best European pizzeria according to the 2022 50 Top Pizza Europe ranking); Charly Morote, Sergi Puig and Gemma López (Suru Bar in Barcelona); Jordi Asensio and Patrícia Nieves (Can Culleres in Barcelona); Adrià Edo (Dit i Fet in Girona); Martín Comamala (539 Plats Forts in Puigcerdà, Girona); and Gessamí Caramés (Meleta de Romer in L’Ametlla de Mar, Tarragona).

As a new feature this year, the Barcelona Gastronomic Forum will host a Tribute to Women in the Rural World promoted by the Barcelona Provincial Council, and as part of the Espai Sucre Best Dessert contest, Martín Berasategui will collect the 2023 Pierre Gagnaire Award, as a tribute to his contribution to the development of confectionary.

Challenges facing the restaurant sector

The sessions on innovation and management of hospitality businesses will be held at the Forum Lab, organised by the Barcelona Gastronomic Forum and the Food Service Cluster.

This space will also host the Foodture Congress organised by the Barcelona Design Centre (BCD) and the International Restaurant and Circular Economy Congress, an initiative of the Fundación Restaurantes Sostenibles.

A record-breaking edition

The upcoming edition of the Barcelona Gastronomic Forum will be the largest in its history, with more than 350 exhibitors and 20% growth in exhibits compared to the last edition held in 2022.