Gastrofestival Madrid returns with gourmet experiences and a tribute to San Isidro

Once again, the city of Madrid will be the setting for a grand celebration of the art of cooking. From 16 to 29 May, the city will host Gastrofestival, an event organised by the Tourism Department and Madrid Fusión which fills Madrid's calendar with culinary experiences and unique cultural activities. The Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, presented the programme of the 13th edition of the annual event today in the Royal Botanical Gardens. He was accompanied by Begoña Villacís, the Deputy Mayor, and Almudena Maíllo, the Tourism Councillor, as well as Benjamín Lana, Vice-President of Madrid Fusión, and Beatriz Herrera, Director of Institutional Relations and Sustainability at Mahou-San Miguel.

After commenting that 15 years ago, Madrid wasn’t in the same gastronomic league as the world’s major capitals, the mayor added that “Today, there’s no doubt we’re competing for the top spots in that same league”, something he said “wouldn't have been possible without the strong push made by the entire restaurant sector”, whose great work has put the Spanish capital on the same level as any of the world’s cities, “surpassing even London in terms of culinary multiculturalism”.

Almeida also announced that Madrid would be hosting the Best Chef Awards for the first time this year. “Because we want to keep competing in that gastronomic league of major cities, we want to play our part and we want to remain an exceptional national and international destination, we’ve been successful in bringing to Madrid the gala where the award for the world’s best chef is given out”. The mayor likened the awards to the “Nobel Prize of Cooking”.

“From 16 to 29 May, Madrid will be good enough to eat”, said Almeida, and because in Madrid gastronomy “is part of our culture and our heritage”, this year’s festival will be closely tied to the city's culture.

Gastrofestival Madrid will delight Madrileños and visitors alike with offerings by numerous institutions and companies in the city, from bars and restaurants to markets, hotels, museums and other leisure venues that exemplify the culinary and tourism revolution that’s shaking up the city. All of the festival’s activities will be grouped into its usual categories: Gastronomic Madrid, Gastroculture, Sensory Experiences, Wine Culture, Gastrohealth and Gastrofestival for Families. This broad public-private partnership allows Madrid City Council to contribute to stimulating the hospitality and restaurant sectors and fostering Madrid’s gastronomic culture from a culinary perspective but also an artistic one, linking gastronomy to other disciplines such as painting, film, design, literature and music.

Gastronomy is a key segment for Madrid’s tourism and economy, and it's one of the cornerstones of promoting the city as a destination, as outlined in the Strategic Plan developed by the Tourism Department. By organising Gastrofestival, Madrid City Council also aims to foster the development of new experiences in the city and improve its tourism competitiveness, as gastronomy is one of the biggest draws for today’s tourists. Madrid is already a major player in this area, a fact which, coupled with its other strengths, makes the Spanish capital a top city destination in both Europe and the world. According to a survey of users of municipal tourist information points conducted in 2021, visitors rate Madrid's gastronomy at 8.8 out of 10 and its restaurants represent the second largest area of tourist spending.

New: a special gourmet cuisine section

This year's Gastrofestival Madrid programme will give particular prominence to gourmet cooking with a new section in the Gastronomic Madrid category that's full of offerings which showcase fine cuisine made by top chefs with the very best ingredients. It will include spectacular Four-Hand Dinners, made by Michelin-starred chefs and young up-and-comers in the culinary world like Pedro Aguilera, who won the Revelation Chef Award at Madrid Fusión 2022, and Álex Marugán, at the restaurant Tres por Cuatro; or Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo, winners of the Revelation Chef Award at Madrid Fusión 2021, the Best Croquettes Contest in 2021 and the National Pickle Contest at Madrid Fusión 2021, and Miguel Carretero, at the restaurant Santerra.

The Food Hall at Galería Canalejas, a recent arrival in Madrid which has become a new culinary benchmark, will offer an exclusive programme through its different spaces. Davvero, for instance, will have a typical Italian dish from the Abruzzo region, while the stalls of Mad Gourmet will all offer “sensory” tapas related to wine. There will also be other experiences, such as the exhibition Gastroart by Felipao, which combines culinary elements with the Food hall's different sculptures. Madrid’s Royal Palace will also open its doors to visitors, inviting them to tour its kitchens, which are the only “Royal Kitchen” in Europe still preserved in its original state, while Liria Palace, often referred to as the Royal Palace’s “little brother”, will host a tasting of gourmet fine foods from Casa de Alba.

A culinary and cultural tribute to San Isidro

To mark the 4th centenary of his canonisation, Gastrofestival Madrid wanted to offer a tribute to Madrid's patron saint, San Isidro (Isidore the Labourer). For this reason, the programme includes a special activity devoted to him that will allow us to discover the essence of Madrid and the saint’s cultural significance. San Isidro Museum has offered its Renaissance courtyard for the occasion. A dramatised activity will be held there on 17 and 24 May, focusing on four different times and underpinned by the theme of water.

It’s also an invitation to explore the connections between San Isidro and a range of artists and intellectuals, from Lope de Vega to Gómez de la Serna to Maruja Mayo, hosted by two illustrious characters: Iván Vargas, Isidore the Labourer's employer, and La Tía Javiera, a famous rosquilla (Spanish mini doughnut) maker from Villarejo de Salvanés who is mentioned by authors ranging from Jacinto Benavente to Benito Pérez Galdós.

Experiences that invite us to discover and enjoy gastronomy

Over the course of two weeks, this celebration of gastronomy and culture will combine offerings by restaurants, tabernas, cocktail bars, vermouth bars and gourmet shops, among other establishments, with options such as the traditional Degustatapas, 5-Star Menus, Rioja Wine in Our Favourite Bars, Gastrobocatas, Route for the Sweet-Toothed, Coffee Route, and Gastrofestival Recommends, the last of which highlights a selection of iconic dishes by Madrid’s top restaurants. Municipal markets will also have a role in this edition of the festival, with 17 of them hosting a range of activities included in the 360 Market Cuisine section, within the broader category of Gastronomic Madrid.

Meanwhile, the paring of art with cooking will make for some surprising experiences in the Gastroculture category. They will include offerings by museums like the Thyssen-Bornemisza (guided tour of its permanent collection and tasting of a tapa inspired by Alfred Thompson Bricher's painting Cloudy Day (1871), the Museum of Romanticism (a tour called Tendencias francesas y su influencia en la culinaria española that looks at French trends and their influence on Spanish cuisine), the Decorative Arts Museum (with the tea-themed tour Las infusiones: un universo de sabor y ceremonia), the Naval Museum (¿A qué sabe el mundo?, an activity that explores the question of what the world tastes like), and cultural centres such as CaixaForum Madrid (with the film and fashion-themed tapa tasting Cine y moda and a talk entitled Agricultura regenerativa).

Other leisure venues in Madrid will also take part in the festival, including La Zarzuela Racecourse (horse races and tapas), the National Auditorium (Bach Vermut), Microteatro (gastronomy-themed micro-plays) and hotels like Hard Rock Hotel Madrid (“Guitar for Two” musical brunch). The relationship between gastronomy and decor will be explored in Casa Decor Top Picks, which include over twenty restaurants that combine top-quality culinary offerings with careful interior design, while Madrid Film Office will link gastronomy and cinema together with screenings of two culinary-themed films at Cine Paz.

Four more tasty dishes will round out the Gastrofestival menu: Sensorial Experiences, featuring multiple offerings to delight the five senses (a tour-workshop at MercaMadrid, the zero-waste cooking workshop Recetas de aprovechamiento at the Cerralbo Museum and the guided tour Lardhy, testimonio de los secretos de la historia y la cultura gastronómica de Madrid at San Isidro Sacramental Cemetery); Wine Culture, which will explore the culture of wine; Gastrohealth, which will look at aspects of cooking like well-being, beauty and sustainability, and Gastrofestival for Families, with initiatives for kids designed to allow them to discover and enjoy gastronomy (the family tour De la mano al tenedor at Lázaro Galdiano Museum and the tour-workshop Con la comida sí se juega at the Royal Botanical Gardens).

This 13th edition of Gastrofestival Madrid is sponsored by Mahou and organised in partnership with Madrid Film Office and the city's municipal markets. Iberia Express and Casa Decor will also take part in the event.

For more information and activity locations, visit: https://gastrofestivalmadrid.com /