Gastronomic Forum Barcelona revisits tradition to continue growing

• The show, which is moving to Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue, will bring together more than 450 exhibiting companies, 12% more than in 2025
• The congress programme will explore how to promote innovation, talent and the evolution of gastronomy from culinary tradition

From 2 to 4 November, Gastronomic Forum Barcelona will hold a growth edition that will take place, for the first time, at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue. The show will bring together more than 450 exhibiting companies, 12% more than in the last edition. Under the slogan “Revisiting tradition”, the event will analyse how the culinary legacy drives new ways of cooking, serving and entrepreneurship.

Gastronomic Forum Barcelona will occupy 14,500 m² and will once again bring together companies, producers, distributors, restaurateurs and professionals from the entire gastronomic value chain. The exhibition offer will be led by gastronomic products, which will represent 73% of the total, followed by equipment for the hospitality industry (17%), professional kitchenware (6%) and technological solutions (5%).

The show will also have an outstanding institutional and territorial representation through grouped participations promoted by Prodeca, the provincial councils of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, the Barcelona City Council, Mercabarna, the Xunta de Galicia, Extremadura, A Coruña, Burgos, Palencia, Cáceres and Teruel, among other entities.

The presence of the autonomous communities will contribute to reinforcing the diversity of the show’s offer. Galicia will once again lead the territorial representation with nearly 500 m² of exhibition space, while Castilla y León, Aragón and Andalusia will also have a prominent presence. These participations will allow you to discover a wide selection of products linked to the territory, from meats, sausages, cheeses, preserves and seafood products to wines, oils, truffles, saffron, sweets and other gastronomic specialties that reflect the richness and uniqueness of each community.

“Once again, Gastronomic Forum Barcelona will bring together the professionals who are defining the present and future of gastronomy. Our vocation is to offer a space where knowledge, products and companies connect to respond to the great challenges of the sector,” says Josep Alcaraz, director of the show.

Among the wide range of offerings at the show, innovative proposals such as violet fig carpaccio, gourmet artichoke or Angus cheek croquettes, a fake caviar made from truffle juice, Mignonette Pearls – a trompe l’oeil that reproduces the appearance of a real pearl – picaña carpaccio, molten cow fat or a non-carbonated isotonic drink made with apple, hibiscus, rosehip and seawater.

Back to the origins

With this new edition, Gastronomic Forum Barcelona will reinforce its role as a reference platform for professionals in the sector, combining a wide range of exhibitions with a content programme designed to promote debate, promote the exchange of experiences and generate new business opportunities.

In this way, the congress program will revolve around the slogan “Revisiting tradition”, an invitation to reflect on the capacity of culinary heritage to inspire new gastronomic proposals. The meeting will bring together 140 leading national and international gastronomy professionals. For three days, chefs, producers, artisans and specialists will share experiences, knowledge and demonstrations on the main challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

This reflection will take shape through an extensive programme of presentations, showcookings and debates led by professionals who approach tradition from very different perspectives, from the recovery of local products and popular recipe books to their reinterpretation. Among them are Manuel Costiña (Retiro da Costiña), Pedro Sánchez (Bagá), Artur Martínez (Trü), Enrique Valentí (Caja de Cerillas), Oliver Peña (Teatro Kitchen & Bar), Viviana Varese (FAKK) and Alatz Bilbao (Bakea).

They will be joined by some of the great references of haute cuisine such as the chefs with three Michelin stars Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas and Eduard Xatruch (Disfrutar), Paco Pérez (Miramar), Quique Dacosta (Quique Dacosta Restaurant), Jordi Cruz (ABaC) and Nacho Manzano (Casa Marcial), who will share how the culinary legacy continues to be a source of creativity and innovation.

According to Pep Palau, director of content at the show, “cuisine is constantly evolving, but it always does so based on a legacy built over generations. Revisiting tradition means understanding that heritage in order to reinterpret it and adapt it to current challenges without losing its essence”.

Trends

The 2026 edition will pay special attention to some of the trends that are redefining the gastronomic experience. These include the growing prominence of the dining room and the rise of gastronomic bars as spaces for direct interaction between chefs and customers. For this reason, the show will recreate a large live bar by Albert Raurich (Dos Palillos), João Kather, Sergio Tamayo and Miguel De Aguilar (Tetsu) and Martín Comamala (539, Plats Forts), who will show how this format is transforming the relationship between cuisine and diner and consolidating itself as one of the models with the greatest projection in today’s restaurant industry.

The show will also pay special attention to generational renewal through the Talent Z symposium, dedicated to a new generation of professionals who are transforming gastronomy. Chef Alatz Bilbao (Bakea), Alba Aguilera, the youngest fisherwoman in Catalonia, pastry chef Lluc Crusellas, and chefs Lucía Gutiérrez (Lur) and Helena Termes Adan (La Cort del Mos), among others, will discuss digitalisation, entrepreneurship, work-life balance, leadership and talent management, reflecting on how the gastronomic professions and ways of entrepreneurship in the sector are evolving.

Awards and Recognition

Finally, the programme will be completed with the presentation of various professional awards, including the Cuiner 2026 Gastronomic Forum Barcelona Award, organised with La Vanguardia where the six finalists – Àlex López, Marcos Valyi and Jordi Carbonell (Arraval, Barcelona), Neus Faiges (Cal Faiges, Poblenou del Delta), Miquel Pardo (Melós, Barcelona), Soledad Lema (Piedra, Barcelona), Alba Hugas and João Pedro Fontes (Unça, Banyoles) and Juanan Vizcaíno (Zaytun, Barcelona) – will prepare their proposals live to compete for the award; the Innoforum Awards for gastronomic innovation; and the Josep Mercader Awards, which distinguish outstanding trajectories and contributions to the sector.

The Baker awards for the Best Bread and the Best Panettone in Spain will also be presented, promoted respectively by the Gremi de Flequers and the Gremi de Pastissers. In addition, the show will once again host the presentation of reference publications such as the Slow Food Guide 2027 and the Guia Augusta.

Barcelona, October 19, 2026