Barcelona is taking part in the programme to celebrate Catalonia’s distinction as World Region of Gastronomy 2025 to shine a spotlight on Catalan cuisine and showcase what the city has to offer, particularly the municipal markets.  Throughout the year, the city will be offering a series of events as part of this programme, such as the Tasta’M gastronomy event, where seasonal produce and music are the star features, or the Market of Markets and Little Market of Markets fairs, and will also be hosting initiatives such as tastings, show cooking sessions, fairs and a programme of gastronomy events featuring both traditional and innovative Catalan cuisine.

A programme of six show cooking sessions is currently underway, organised under the name Mercats de Forquilla. Barcelona. Cuina Autèntica. Rebost Local in collaboration with the Joint Office for Sustainable Food (OCAS). At each of these six sessions, a chef from a restaurant that has been a winner or runner-up in the Barcelona Restaurant Awards will demonstrate how to prepare one or a number of dishes to showcase sustainable, traditional and innovative Catalan cuisine.

The programme started at the Petit Mercat de Mercats (Little Market of Markets) fair with a session dedicated to seafood dishes. In this case, the star chef was Juanba Agreda from the restaurant Terraza Martínez, in a session that highlighted local produce and aspects such as sustainability.

Upcoming events

The second session in the series will take place on 14 June at the Mercat de la Guineueta, with flavours, fusion and balance as the key features, and with the chefs Jaume Marambio and Vicky Maccarone from the restaurant Alapar.

The third session will be on 27 September as part of the Terra i Gust Sustainable Food Festival and with the team from the restaurant Casa Amàlia. The fourth session will be on 18 October, as part of the Market of Markets fair, with Sergi Clapés and Josep Armenteros, who, under the culinary direction of Carles Gaig, will be serving up some traditional Catalan cuisine using modern and contemporary techniques.

The fifth session will be at the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, on 3 November, where Milanese chef Fabio Gambirasi from the restaurant Agreste will be sharing his journey between Catalan and Italian cuisine. And the sixth session will be on 29 November at the Mercat del Bon Pastor under the heading ‘Mengem-nos el barri’ and featuring Segovian chef Beltrán Sastre who, together with Erola Vila, front-of-house manager, runs Echegaray. At a later date, all the recipes will be brought together as a collection so that anyone can consult them at home.