Barcelona Degusta 2011

Are you a lover of good food? Are you interested in food? Do you like cooking? Come to Barcelona Degusta and discover new flavours, add to your recipe book, surprise your family on Christmas Day, learn about new culinary techniques…

At Barcelona Degusta you’ll find small-scale producers of food specialities and leading brands, the best designations of origin and the latest in kitchen equipment. You’ll also be able to discover the new gastronomic trends, update your recipe book and attend cooking demonstrations.

Over one hundred exhibitors will be bringing you their new delicatessen products, organic foodstuffs and high-end products. A range of demonstrations, workshops and talks have also been organised, not to mention the “Bulevard dels restaurants“, the ‘Restaurant Boulevard‘, where the chefs from the city’s top-end restaurants will be serving special tapas.

Barcelona Degusta demonstrates its solidarity through a firm commitment to recycling the surplus food and drink at the show. The show is providing the Food Bank Foundation with a stand for collecting food and drink during the two days of the show. This food will be distributed by over one hundred volunteers from the Foundation to the most disadvantaged people in the city of Barcelona and its province.

Fira Barcelona -> Av Reina Maria Cristina, 2 | Sants-Montjuïc

Sardines & Rumba at La Caseta del Migdia in Montjuic

Sea views from Montjuïc mountain, blue fish and a rumba experience!

These are the keys to the success of “Sardines & Rumba“, back this year on Wednesday evenings throughout the summer at the Caseta del Migdia, with the idea of spicing them up in a cheap and fun way.

After cable-car suppers and Alpine fondues the latest culinary event includes a special menu with a salad, grilled sardines, toast with tomato, melon and watermelon, all for 19 euros.

From 22 June to the end of August these suppers will be accompanied by live performances of Catalan rumba from a group called Rumbalà.

.::. La Caseta del Migdia .::.

Ferran Adrià & Colman Andrews at Hotel 1898 Las Ramblas

On the occasion of the presentation of the authorized biography of Ferran Adrià, the famous chef of El Bulli, Hotel 1898 Barcelona has been the place where gathered together the best chef in the world and the author of his biography, Colman Andrews.

With the suggestive title of Ferran Adrià: A relentless journey of gastronomy (Phaidon Publishing) Colman Andrews shells the trajectory of the owner of El Bulli. A book which, as the same author relates, began writing 30 years ago when he visited Catalonia for the first time.

Colman Andrews (born in California, 1945) is an American writer and editor and authority on food and wine. Since then, he has been the restaurant columnist for Gourmet. He is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on Spanish cuisine, particularly that of the Catalonia region.

Ferran Adrià i Acosta is a Catalan Spanish chef born on May 14, 1962 in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. He is the head chef of the El Bulli restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava, and is considered one of the best chefs in the world.

Sardinas & Rumba in La Caseta del Migdia, Montjuïc

The summer invites you to enjoy the open air. And there’s nothing better than a good meal with some good music out in the open to while away the hot days. These are the ingredients for “Sardines&Rumba“, the new culinary event on Montjuïc mountain this summer.

Book a Wednesday night during July and August (from 9 pm on) and enjoy a big public sardine barbecue, accompanied by the best of Catalan Rumba, and extraordinary views of Barcelona harbour from Montjuïc.

These culinary nights are a new initiative from the La Caseta del Migdia (Marc Ros, co-organiser) and Moritz.

Besides sardines, anyone going to “Sardines & Rumba” will be able to savour a first dish and some very refreshing desserts. The full menu includes a salad, six barbecued sardines and a melon and watermelon shish kebab.

As for drinks, in addition to beer you’ll find a Catalan-style jug of wine, to make it an especially traditional menu. The total cost per person is €19. For further information make a booking, please call 934 235 434.

Where: La Caseta del Migdia (Mirador del Migdia-Montjuic)

Barcelona Restaurant Week

Barcelona Restaurant Week will be held from 20 to 28 February, an initiative which aims to offer top-class menus at the city’s best restaurants at the popular price of 25 euros, out of which one euro will go towards Fundación Española del Corazón [the Spanish Heart Foundation] and Fundació ONCE del Gos Guia [ONCE Guide Dog Foundation].

In all, 33 of the city’s top-class restaurants (three of which have a Michelin star), having joined in the Barcelona Gastronomy Programme, will be offering set menus this week, which include an entrée, a main course and dessert, all at the price of 25 euros.

To treat yourselves to these menus, you’ll have to call your chosen restaurant and make a reservation. The 25-euro menu will be on offer at lunchtime and in the evening, or throughout the day, depending on the restaurant.

More inf@: Turisme de Barcelona website

Asia Festival in Barcelona

The Asian Festival is back for the 8th edition and the second year in succession it forms part of the La Mercè festivities. This year’s festival will have a star guest to open it: the Chinese rocker Cui Jian, a key figure in China’s current music scene. He will be performing on 23 in Plaça Reial.

Participating in this year’s festival will be members of the Asian communities resident in Barcelona: from China, Pakistan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, South Korea, Japan and Nepal.

These communities will be the protagonists in the free activities making up “Un dia a l’Àsia” (A day in Asia), a part of the festival that will be held on 24 September and includes about fifty different activities to show the culture of 17 countries.

So, on 24 September, various parts of Ciutadella Park will be turned into little corners of Asia and offering stories, workshops, music (with performances, among others, by Famiya Khan and SK1), games, displays of several kinds of art (calligraphy, Wushu, Ikebana etc.) and sport (Kabaddi), cinema, dance and massage practices, street music and even track games.

In addition, from 23 to 27 September, Ciutadella Park will have a gastronomic area where visitors can savour Asian flavours and cuisine.

More inf@ : www.casaasia.es

“Toute la France” in Barcelona.

From 11-14 June, the Moll de la Fusta will host the “Toute la France” fair, showing visitors the many facets of Catalonia’s neighbour, from gastronomy and tourism to companies and businesses. This is the second time it has been held in Spain. Last year it was held in Madrid and received almost 70,000 visitors.

This year some 200,000 visitors are expected and they will be able to enjoy cultural activities, talks, exhibitions and professional meetings, among other things. A highlight of the fair site will be the French Producers Market, with around forty stands representing the various French regions.

Place:  Moll de la Fusta  |  Free Entrance
Address: Moll Bosch i Alsina, 2 – source: www.bcn.es

NN Hotels: www.nnhotels.com