The Diplomat
A total of 106,923 people visited the Salón Gourmets held last week in Madrid and which, in its 37th edition, had Morocco as the country of honor and was attended by numerous ambassadors and diplomats accredited in Spain.
This year, in the 65,000 square meter space occupied in the Ifema facilities, the Salón Gourmets had the participation of 1,980 exhibitors, who offered visitors more than 55,000 products. The gastronomic fair presented more than 1,300 novelties, was the scene of 1,200 activities and generated a business volume (direct and indirect) of more than 200,000 euros.
The organizers of the event expressed their satisfaction with the development of the event, indicating that it has exceeded all their expectations, and trusting that the Salón Gourmets will continue its growth during next year’s edition, which will take place between April 7 and 10. 2025.
Numerous authorities, including the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; Luis Planas, attended the Hall, as did other representatives of his department and different Autonomous Communities and the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
Luis Planas, who toured the different pavilions, highlighted the great variety of national and international agri-food products on display.
For her part, Karima Benyaich, Moroccan ambassador in Madrid, expressed her satisfaction with the fact that her country has been the guest of honor this year, and highlighted that the fair is a great platform to publicize the products and gastronomy Moroccan, of which he recalled that it includes influences of all kinds: Arabic, Berber, Andalusian, Mediterranean, Hebrew, etc.
Morocco was present in one of the pavilions, with stands that occupied 400 square meters, and in which more than twenty companies from the country exhibited their products to visitors.
Representatives of the Embassies of Oman, such as its ambassador, Omar al-Kathiri, also visited the pavilions, accompanied by the International Department of the Salón Gourmets; Austria, Peru, Mexico, Australia, United States, Cyprus, Philippines, South Korea, Japan and Canada, the latter, together with the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of New Brunswick, Margaret Johnson.
During the fair, several championships and competitions were held, such as the 14th GourmetQuesos, Championship of the Best Cheeses in Spain 2024. In the category promoted by the ICEX ‘Cheese from Spain Awards’, the winner was Villarejo Añejo Cured in Honey and Oregano from Villarejo Artisan Cheeses in Villarejo de Fuentes (Cuenca). In addition, the Don Nicolás cured cow cheese from Finca de Uga in Puerto del Carmen (Lanzarote, Las Palmas) was proclaimed Best Cheese in Spain
In the 12th Awards for the novelties exhibited in the Innovation Area, in the Innovation category the trophy went to the product Oleo Latte, the first extra virgin olive oil, designed to enrich your coffee; in the Versatility category, the winner was Caviaroli with Dressing based on vegetable oil emulsified with different types of herbs, fruits and nuts; The award for best Presentation went to Aceites Rafael Salgado for Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Antequera oil mill (Málaga); and, finally, the best organic product was the cactus gin from Bernardo’s Mermeladas.
In parallel, the grand final of the 29th Spanish Tierra de Sabor Sommelier Championship was held where the three finalists passed demanding tests such as a quick test, an oral wine tasting and an erroneous menu, among others. Fernando Mayoral from the El Rincón de España restaurant (Burgos) won the title after passing them correctly and will represent Spain in the ASI (Association de la Somellerie Internationale) World Sommelier Championship.
There were also awards for pizza making in the classic, shovel, taglio, Neapolitan, gluten-free, long più, speed and acrobatics categories.
The grill master Mariano García Poyuelo and the meat expert Javier Trabadelo were in charge of directing the cooking show ‘Cárnicas Trasacar: Cow and grill, culture and tradition’ in which they taught the secret to getting the meat just right.
Chefs, journalists and friends gathered at the Gourmets Hall to present a book tribute to Javier Oyarbide. Under the title ‘Yesterday and Oy’, it is loaded with anecdotes and memories that add to the In memoriam award that Club de Gourmets magazine gave the day before to the last heir of the Zalacaín family saga for his invaluable contribution to the world of gastronomy.
The most charitable activity at the Gourmets Hall on Thursday was the one that took place on the Solidarity Gastronomy stage. A pincho tasting organized by the Rare Diseases Association. And, in addition, the volunteers from the Madrid Food Bank toured the five pavilions of Ifema collecting the products that the exhibitors generously donated.
