Madrid’s Gastrofestival Puts Spanish Cuisine in Spotlight

Madrid’s Gastrofestival Puts Spanish Cuisine in Spotlight
By James Ruggia

Madrid is using a festival to highlight its culinary culture. From Jan. 23 to Feb. 5, Madrid’s streets will host a wealth of gastronomic and cultural activities. Gastrofestival will feature nearly 300 participants. The third edition includes two new sections -- Gastrohealth and Wine Culture.

The Gastrofestival menu offers six options -- Sensory Experiences, Gastroculture, Madrid -- A Gastronomic Capital, Gastrofashion, Gastrohealth and Wine Culture. Dinner with the Stars is the festival’s main course and the event that has proved most popular in previous editions. Full details of the festival can be found in the special section on the City of Madrid’s official tourism website at www.esmadrid.com/gastrofestival.

The festival features a full program of culinary experiences and events. It will again coincide with Madrid Fusion, the major international gastronomic summit, to be held from Jan. 24 to 26. Gastrofestival was created to involve the public in the Madrid Fusion. Gastrohealth will offer attractive discounts to those interested in beauty treatments with chocolate, cherries or oil, as well as on spa circuits.

A course in healthy cooking will also take place, teaching participants the basic principles for designing healthy menus and about the types of food that help us to feel well. The Sensory Experiences will include tasting sessions and gastronomic tours of the city. Of special interest are the activities organized by the San Miguel Market.

Another interesting option on the festival’s menu is Gastroculture, which includes activities related to painting, film, theater and literature. Twenty or so of the city’s art galleries will be holding special exhibitions and there will be talks and workshops at some of Madrid’s leading museums, including the Cerralbo Museum, the National Museum of Romanticism, the National Museum of Anthropology, and the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

Other events include the special activities for children organized by the Sorolla Museum and a guided tour at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, ending with a tapas specially designed for the occasion.