GastroCanarias, the most important fair for the gastronomy, hotel and catering sector in the Canary Islands, opened its doors today at the Tenerife Trade Fair Centre with 250 exhibitors and around twenty activities scheduled until 25 May. In total, 92 companies from the sector are exhibiting their products and services at the 8th edition of this show, in which all the islands are also represented, through the local councils, as well as the Government of the Canary Islands and several town councils of Tenerife.
The opening was attended by the President of the Tenerife Cabildo, Pedro Martín, the Councillor for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands, Alicia Vanoostende, the Mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, as well as the co-directors of GastroCanarias, José Carlos Marrero and Jonay Rodríguez.
For Pedro Martín, this gastronomic fair “is an opportunity to showcase the dynamism and wealth of the gastronomic sector in Tenerife and throughout the Canary Islands” and he stressed that this year “we have had to set up 30 more stands to meet the demand from companies, the best way to know that the fair is working well”.
The island president also highlighted the training opportunity that this show represents “for the new generations who are starting out in the world of gastronomy, so that they can meet other chefs, exchange experiences and start to make their way”, he said.
The regional councillor Alicia Vanoostende referred, for her part, to the studies being carried out by the Canary Islands Institute of Agricultural Research (ICIA) “so that the Canary Island hen can be recognised as a native breed and to promote this meat as a quality product” and highlighted the presence at the fair of GMR Canarias, a company attached to the Agriculture Department, with more than 40 producers and the development of different workshops to promote the value and knowledge of the local product.
José Manuel Bermúdez explained that “the gastronomy and catering sector represents 10% of all economic activity in the capital, with more than 1,000 restaurants and cafés in the municipality that generate 14% of employment. We are therefore talking about a sector that is key to the socio-economic development of Santa Cruz and for this reason we are going to have our own stand where we are going to relaunch the Degusta Santa Cruz brand”.
The Cabildo was also represented by the second vice-president and councillor for the Presidency, Finance and Modernisation, Berta Pérez; the councillor for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Javier Parrilla; the councillor for Employment, Socioeconomic Development and External Action, Carmen Luz Baso; and the island’s director of Tourism, Laura Castro, among other authorities.
GASTRONOMY FAIR IN TENERIFE: 14,000 SQUARE METRES AND TWO LARGE STAGES
With a total surface area of some 14,000 m², this year’s edition, in which Fuerteventura is the guest island, has two large stages, one sponsored by the Cabildo of Tenerife, where the cooking competitions will take place, and the other by Heineken®, where the drinks competitions will be held and an intense programme of activities will be offered, including cooking workshops, master classes, cookery demonstrations (show-cooking), product presentations and tastings, and commented tastings.
This year the Cabildo de Tenerife will have a 112 square metre stand, with a special place for Tenerife Honey and a wine tunnel, in which the six designations of origin operating on the island will be represented with 40 references. Throughout the three days of the fair, there will be tastings, culinary demonstrations, wine tastings, workshops and educational talks.
The Aula de Formación GastroCanarias-HECANSA will also reopen its doors where, during the three days of the event, a series of master classes, specific cooking workshops, training courses for students and amateurs, and a wide and varied programme of activities will be held, with free entry until full capacity is reached. In parallel, the Aula Makro will bring together professionals from bars and restaurants to provide them with ideas, suggestions and inspiration to encourage them to innovate in their menus or to improve their menu.
During the course of the 8th Salón Gastronómico de Canarias, 12 major championships will be held, seven in the cooking category and five in the drinks category, in which representatives from all the islands will take part.
These include the 17th Canary Islands Absolute Cooking Championship. Gran Premio Cabildo de Tenerife, in which 10 chefs from Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote will take part, together with their assistants, who will have the challenge of cooking two dishes with surprise ingredients in search of becoming the Best Chef or the Best Cook of the Canary Islands.
In addition, this year two championships will be held for the first time, the 1st Canary Islands Absolute Tapas Championship – Makro Grand Prix and the 1st Canary Islands Championship of Classic Non-alcoholic Cocktails.
The eighth edition of the Salón Gastronómico de Canarias – GastroCanarias 2023 is promoted and organised jointly by the Tenerife Trade Fair Institution (IFTSAU) and the company Interideas, S.L.U., through its GastroCanarias platform, and has the institutional sponsorship of the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, the Government of the Canary Islands and the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council.
