Aula Mercat Barcelona
Aula Mercat Barcelona, the sustainable food space at the Gastronomic Forum
From 4 to 6 November at Fira de Barcelona
Come and take part in showcooking sessions and debates on the future of sustainable food with chefs such as Maria Nicolau, Quim Casellas and Marc Ribas, plus a host of local organic producers.
Aula Mercat Barcelona is a space organised by Barcelona City Council as part of the leading fair for professionals in the restaurant and food sector. Over the three days, this space will be offering various activities with prestigious chefs, farming and fishing professionals, who will be cooking live and reflecting on sustainable cuisine, biodiversity and local production. Various local organic food producers from the Barcelona metropolitan area will also be showcasing their produce, highlighting the importance of the urban-rural connection.
Book your ticket now and take part in the Aula Mercat Barcelona.
Activities programme
“Farm to fork: bringing the countryside to the city”
11:00 am
Cook & Chat
How can we bring more sustainable agricultural production to people’s tables? We’ll talk about this with the chef Maria Nicolau and the managers of some of the agricultural parks around Barcelona.
Featuring:
- Maria Nicolau, chef and communicator
- Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat (Imma Tugas)
- Espai Agrari de la Baixa Tordera (Miquel Riera)
Cooking for us:
- Maria Nicolau, chef and culinary communicator
“Climate change and its effects on biodiversity and food”
1:00 pm
Cook & Chat
Wine and vegetable producers chat with Juancho Martini, chef of Fat Veggies vegetarian restaurant, about the effects of climate change on cooking.
Featuring:
- Juancho Martini, chef at Fat Veggies
- Lluís Fisas, Can Fisas
- Carlos Cabrera, Cooperativa L’Olivera
- Josep Pintó, Biolord Coop
Cooking for us:
- Juancho Martini, Fat Veggies, Barcelona
“Local Catalan cuisine”
3:00 pm
Showcooking
The people at Teòric, one of Barcelona’s most iconic bistros, chat with Jaume Casado, a saffron producer, about how it’s possible to make modern Catalan cuisine with local, seasonal produce.
Featuring:
- Oriol Casals and Teo Rubio, Teòric
- Jaume Casado, Safrà del Montsec
Cooking for us:
- Oriol Casals, Teòric, Barcelona
“Sustainable fishing: a necessary challenge for cooking today”
5:00 pm
Showcooking
Quim Casellas, a Sol Repsol-winning chef committed to sustainability, chats with Cristina Caparrós, an advocate for local fishing.
Featuring:
- Quim Casellas, a Sol Repsol-winning chef at Casamar restaurant in Llafranc
- Cristina Caparrós, La Platjeta
Cooking for us:
- Quim Casellas, Casamar restaurant, Llafranc
“Barcelona on your plate! Devouring the city”
11:00 am
Cook & Chat
Small producers from the city of Barcelona tell us about their work and show us their produce while CETT students transform it through cooking.
Featuring:
- Ana Pardo, Alimentem Collserola
- Íñigo Haugley, Collserola Pagesa
- Alfred March, D Collserola
Cooking for us:
- Oscar Boronat, a cooking lecturer at CETT (Barcelona School of Hotel Management and Tourism), with students from the and Culinary and Gastronomic Sciences undergraduate degree programme
“Sustainable hospitality: coming full circle”
1:00 pm
Cook & Chat
The people at Espai Puntal in the Ribera neighbourhood are very clear about one thing: to be sustainable in the restaurant sector, you have to apply a circular economy model, reusing resources and even waste. We’ll talk to two key players in this necessary change.
Featuring:
- Lorenzo Sagona, Georgina Inglavaga and Merkel Cormenzana, Espai Puntal
- Diego Waehner, co-founder of the Abono Km0 association
- Jenny Berengueras, deputy reuse director at Rezero
- Merkel Cormenzana, Espai Puntal
Cooking for us:
- Lorenzo Sagona and Georgina Inglavaga, Espai Puntal, Barcelona
“Legumes, new plant proteins and their use in mass catering”
3:00 pm
Cook & Chat
If it’s true we have to cut down on animal protein to combat the climate chaos, legumes are a good, more sustainable alternative. We’ll talk about them and cook them in this workshop.
Featuring:
- Nani Moré, Menjadors Ecològics and a member of CINC Solució Vegetal
- Pere Carrió, the owner and chef of Gat Blau restaurant and a member of CINC Solució Vegetal
- Silvia López Vílchez, head chef at the Germans Corbella school in Cardedeu
- M. Josep Bernadó Puñet, the manager of Dovella Serveis Escolars and a member of XAmec
Cooking for us:
- Pere Carrió, Gat Blau restaurant, winner of the 2021 Mercader Best Sustainable Restaurant Award, Barcelona
“Marc Ribas: cooking nature to preserve it”
5:00 pm
Showcooking
Marc Ribas has changed the focus of his Taverna del Ciri in Terrassa and will be telling us about its dynamic menu, much more in tune with the local area and the seasons.
Featuring:
- Marc Ribas, culinary communicator and chef
Cooking for us:
- Marc Ribas, La Taverna del Ciri, Terrassa
“Sustainable restaurants resisting in the centre of Barcelona”
11:00 am
Showcooking
Standing firm against the pressure of tourism in Barcelona and continuing to provide high-quality, traditional, local food is an increasingly difficult challenge. But that’s just what La Sosenga, a small neighbourhood restaurant, is managing to do.
Featuring:
- Marc Pérez, La Sosenga’s chef
- Andreu Casals, Som Boletaires
- Cristina Caparrós, La Platjeta
Cooking for us:
- Marc Pérez and Antonio Domínguez, La Sosenga, Barcelona
“Pizza: from global to local”
1:00 pm
Showcooking
Local, quality pizza has come to Barcelona to stay. And that’s largely thanks to La Balmesina, which has been on all the lists of the best pizzerias in Europe and the world for years now.
Featuring:
- Massimo Morbi, pizzaiolo
- Francesco Cerutti, cheesemaker
Cooking for us:
- Massimo Morbi, La Balmesina pizzeria, Barcelona
“Responsible cooking: zero waste”
3:00 pm
Showcooking
Cook while living in the present, looking to the past and respecting the future.
Featuring:
- Laura Veraguas, chef and founder of VER AGUAS, sustainable catering
- Fran Baixas, chef and founder of Franca
Cooking for us:
- Laura Veraguas, chef and communicator, and Fran Baixas, of Franca restaurant
“INCLUSIVE FOOD: food as a tool for social inclusion”
5:00 pm
Cook & Chat
Can food be a tool for social inclusion and help to solve the problems of immigration and integration? We’ll talk about this with the Mescladís Foundation and the Barcelona business school ESADE.
Featuring:
- Jordi Herrera, chef
- Alfred Vernis, ESADE lecturer
- Martín Habiague, Mescladís Foundation
Cooking for us:
- Jordi Herrera, a former Michelin-star chef at Manairó restaurant, currently the chef at Mescladís Lliure Altell, Barcelona