Gastronomy and Wine Tourism in Catalonia

The Catalan Tourist Board has announced that Catalonia will invest a huge amount of money, concretely 12 million euros, to make Catalonia a leading destination for wine and gastronomy tourism.

Catalonia has a rich cultural heritage linked to gastronomy, wine and cava, a varied offer of activities and events and a network of specialised tourist companies.

Catalonia has been fascinated by gastronomy: renowned chefs such as Ferran Adrià, Carme Ruscalleda, and the Roca brothers have placed Catalan cuisine among the most reputed in the world. The region proudly holds restaurants with 69 Michelin stars, being the territory with the highest number of Michelin star restaurants. Wine and Cava are also part of Catalonia’s history.

This year important events are taking place in Catalonia:

1   1. Roca Brothers will open a cultural and gastronomic centre in Sant Julià de Ramis, close to their restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, that will also have a hotel apart from the restaurant with a menu that will include the most representative dishes of the 35 years of history of El Celler de Can Roca.

2   2.  The reopening of El Bulli as a museum of culinary innovation on the 15^th of June 8 years after of its closure. Instead of serving food, El Bulli will function as a laboratory and “museum of culinary innovation”.

3   3. The cellar of Castell de Peralada is celebrating this year its 100 years and they have created a wine to commemorate this anniversary.

4   4. Barcelona will host, on the 28^th of November, the awards ceremony for the Michelin stars given to restaurants in Spain, in the Auditori Fòrum of the Barcelona International Convention Center. The gastronomic coordinators of the event will be renowned chefs, such as Jordi Cruz or Torres Brothers.

It’s a region with a revered gastronomy as well as a rich natural and cultural heritage too (https://isyourhome.catalunya.com/experiencia/catalonia-is-appetising/). On this website, a lot of gastronomic and wine routes can be found among Catalonia, such in Priorat, Penedès, la Conca de Barberà, l’Empordà, el Pla de Bages, Alella, Terra Alta, Costers del Segre and Tarragona. There are also lots of wine festivals every month.

Furthermore, a lot of the recipes come from the Book of Sent Soví, the oldest culinary text in Catalan, composed in 1324. The contents are recipes that have been written by a lot of cooks, with each one writing their own methods of preparing the dishes, blending several culinary traditions in a single work.

Catalonia will participate in the Taste of London (https://london.tastefestivals.com/) as exhibitor in this year’s edition in Regent’s Park in London (14-18 June) to present some of the national products that will be able to be tasted and experiences the destination has to offer.