SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 27 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín, inaugurated this Tuesday the seventh ‘Salón Gastronómico de Canarias’, which will be held until September 29 at the Tenerife Fairgrounds.
In this edition, ‘Gastrocanarias’ has a total of 217 exhibitors, in which 79 companies from the sector and nearly 140 chefs will be present.
Pedro Martín stressed the importance “of vindicating Tenerife as the capital of gastronomy in the Canary Islands and as a benchmark in Spain for a first-rate gastronomic proposal”.
In this regard, the island president highlighted “the richness and variety of the local Tenerife product, which make us a very important gastronomic power, and emphasized the work of professionals in the primary sector, “because thanks to their efforts we can continue enjoying these magnificent products every year”.
In Pedro Martín’s opinion, the intention of developing a show like this “is to position ourselves as one of the great gastronomic fairs that are held in Spain”, but also “is to highlight how in the last 10 or 20 years there has been an exponential growth of male and female chefs, who have been generating a school and who today make us feel proud when they leave our islands and are placed in the top gastronomic positions at an international level”.
The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Alicia Vanoostende, assured that the Government of the Canary Islands have made an “effort” to be present with the Rural Environment Management (GMR) stand, in which more than 40 companies from the archipelago.
In this sense, Vanoostende stressed the commitment of the Canarian Executive “to facilitate the sale of local products to gastronomy and tourism, because when you choose a local product you choose quality, authenticity, sustainability and, of course, economy, betting on the local product is to commit to the development of the Canary Islands”.
For his part, the president of the Cabildo de La Palma, Mariano Zapata, pointed out that “the island is working hard to turn around this difficult situation that nature has put in front of it and in this recovery process, gastronomy has a lot to contribute”.
For this reason, he said, “we want to support ourselves in it, hand in hand with tourism and agriculture, with the aim that La Palma continues to be an island of opportunities, for us being here is a reason for hope and I will not tire of saying that Together we are stronger.”
Likewise, the mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, was delighted with the return of ‘GastroCanarias’ to the capital “since it is one of the most emblematic fairs in the city and many ideas and opportunities are shared around it of business”, and added that “gastronomy and restaurants account for 10 percent of economic activity and generate 6,000 jobs, making it a fundamental piece”.
After two years of the pandemic, professionals and students in the hospitality sector have come together again to discover new products, share experiences and gain knowledge.
Thus, in total more than 400 activities are planned, including tastings, culinary demonstrations, presentations, commented tastings, workshops, competitions and master classes.
MICHELIN STARS
Prestigious national and international chefs will participate, such as Jesús Sánchez (3 Michelin stars), Abel Valverde (National Gastronomy Award), Braulio Simancas (El Silbo Gomero restaurant), Carlos Maldonado (Michelin star in Raíces), the Canarian Safe Cruz (Michelin star in Gofio), Ricardo Vélez (National Pastry Award) and Teresa Gutiérrez, teacher at the ‘Masterchef’ online school and owner of the Azafrán restaurant, among others.
This year La Palma will be the guest island, which will allow the attending public to learn more about the typical products, the most emblematic recipes and the professionals of the ‘Isla Bonita’.
In addition, for the third time in a row the event will feature the participation of each of the seven islands with their own stands promoted by their respective island councils, the Tenerife corporation details in a note.
Two large stages will be set up at the event, one sponsored by the Cabildo de Tenerife, in which the cooking competitions are held, and another by the firm Heineken, in which the drinking competitions and the pizza championship will be held, as well as such as cooking workshops, master classes, culinary demonstrations, tastings and commented tastings.
Likewise, 11 major championships will be held, six in the cooking modality and five in beverages, in which representatives from all the islands will participate.
As a novelty this year, the first Absolute Canarian Tiki Cocktail Championship will be held, a type of cocktail that is characterized by the use of fresh tropical fruits and careful decoration.
On the other hand, the GastroCanarias-Hecansa Training Center will reopen its doors, where a series of master classes, specific cooking workshops, training courses for students and amateurs, and a wide and varied program of activities will be held.
In parallel, the Makro Classroom will display an extensive program of training workshops for bar and restaurant professionals.
EXHIBITOR OF THE COUNCIL OF TENERIFE
In this edition, the Cabildo will focus its gastronomic proposal on fresh and local fish, as well as on the importance of artisanal fishing for the island’s economy.
However, there will also be space for other fundamental products from the Tenerife primary sector, such as wine, potatoes, extra virgin olive oil, zero kilometer fresh meat, cheese, avocado, gofio or honey.
The program of activities, designed jointly by the areas of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and Tourism, includes 14 talks and culinary demonstrations, 11 workshops and a wine tunnel, as well as tastings of fish products and the ‘III Contest of Tasters of Wines of Tenerife’.
