“The power of the dining room” has been one of the first presentations with which the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona has just begun, which is taking place at the Gran Via venue of Fira Barcelona, and will last until Wednesday. Throughout these days we will find out which is the best artisanal panettone and best chocolate panettone in the country, who wins the innovation award, as well as the chef of the year in Catalonia. Directed by Pep Palau and Josep Alcaraz, the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona combines the debate on the restaurant trade with food exhibitors.

The chocolatier Lluc Crusellas arrives in Barcelona. And he does so in a historic location: at 16 Pi Street, in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, as he has bought Xocolates Fargas. Crusellas does not intend to change its name; in fact, he respects its legacy so much that he will continue to produce the flagship products of the chocolate shop, an iconic establishment founded in 1827. The pastry chef from Santa Eulàlia de Riuprimer and 2021 World Chocolate Master had long wanted to land in the Catalan capital, following the Eukarya shop in Vic and after having opened another in Andorra. It is true that he had participated in several pop-up stores during the Christmas campaign, but to open a shop in Barcelona "everything had to fit," says Crusellas, whom we catch just as they are repositioning the shop's sign.

There are vendors who have started placing yogurts with the closest best-before date at the end of the row, and not at the beginning. They break the patterns we consumers have, who go looking for the food stacked at the end because we know those are the ones with the furthest best-before date, and that way we can store them for more days at home. Our inconsiderate gesture will cause yogurts to be rejected, which will most likely enter the food waste circuit. Furthermore, they will enter it unfairly, because yogurts have a best-before date, and not an expiration date. What does each of these concepts mean? Perhaps we should also ask ourselves why we buy a product if we have no intention of consuming it immediately. If we bought products knowing that we would consume them soon, we would take those with the closest best-before date. But since we would be entering another complex topic, let's address date labeling.

It is Saturday, not yet eight in the morning, and there are already people queuing at Es Portal in Cadaqués, in front of Can Cabrisas. Some have placed orders for boxes of 'taps'; others, for croissants. And there are many who have woken up early to buy whatever they are selling today, which is the final day of a century-old pastry shop. For more than fifteen days, Mercè Cabrisas has not been taking orders for either 'taps' or croissants because things were getting out of hand, she comments. She had to stop when she realized that the demand was higher than the work the workshop itself could handle.

We arrive in Cornellà just as Arnau París (Barcelona, 1988) and Rais Esteve (Sant Boi de Llobregat, 1989) have left their twins, Artur and Robert, at the nursery school. It has been a year of many changes for this couple, who met at MasterChef, in which Paris won the 2021 edition and Rais Esteve worked in gastronomic consulting. Since they knew they were receiving a visit from ARA, they waited for us with the table set for breakfast. Paris insists that we taste the sobrassada that they make themselves.

The Castanyada is here and the chef from the Semproniana restaurant comes to our rescue. What can we do with chestnuts? Well, here are three ideas: roast them, boil them, and make a sauce with them for meat.

It is Tuesday evening, and the Vinseum, the wine museum of Vilafranca del Penedès, has organized a star tasting; that is to say, they have invited an oenologist, Sara Pérez (Venus la Universal; Mas Martinet), who in turn has chosen four female winemakers who will be talked about a lot in the coming years, as she herself asserts. Sara is one of the great women of wine, who is passion and wisdom at the same time. She radiates enthusiasm when she speaks, and at the same time argues and debates the topics raised with rigor. "When I arrived in Priorat with my family, I was seventeen years old. I didn't start making wines until I was twenty-eight". The data is important because "I inherited what my parents had done there, I did what was established, and I think that they carried out the revolution, yes, but we all settled into our seats right away". "Right now the country, Catalonia, is experiencing a great revolutionary wave, and what I can do at my age is spread it", she says. How does she do it? She has chosen the wines that she likes, and those of Isa Serra (Horta Colomer, in Priorat), Anna Martín (Hattrick, Terra Alta), Marta Nieto (Vins l'Intercanvi, Penedès) and Júlia Faura (Vins Ric, Berguedà) excite her.

This year's mushroom season has started quite a bit later than it should have. A very long and extremely hot summer—the hottest in history—has left the forests very damaged and thirsty. Fortunately, the autumn rains did not miss the appointment, but the more abundant and general precipitation did not arrive until October. All of this has meant that in September, mushrooms were very hard to find where they usually appear first, in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, as well as in a large part of Europe. This has caused, until now, mushrooms to be sold at a premium price.

The second Sunday of September marks the celebration of the Mare de Déu de Paller festival. We go to the sanctuary for lunch. It is right in the middle of the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park, three kilometers from the town of Bagà. In this unique space, nature shares the spotlight with a chapel from the year 1747 and a restaurant led by Esteve Vivó, which, if you wish, guarantees you a totally Berguedà meal.

We recently said goodbye to L'Hermós, the fish bar at the Mercat de la Llibertat in Gràcia. However, we have been celebrating a premiere for a few weeks now. From those ashes, a robust project has been born in the same spot: Seny. A huge scorpionfish welcomes us. It is painted on the wall, black on white. It is the work of Max amb X, a tattoo artist. When the stall is closed, however, the scorpionfish doubles, as it is also reproduced on the shutter in negative, white on black. Seny is the new fish restaurant-stall-bar by chef Carles Ramon (Barcelona, 1986).

The cook Ada Parellada, from the restaurant Semproniana, proposes a healthy fish recipe from the traditional Catalan cookbook.

I am interviewing chef Jordi Jacas on the day he prepared a catering service at a private home, where the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition welcomed academic Sandro Rossell. He prepared a meal there with foods in which honey and oil shone. For dessert, the pastry chef Oriol Balaguer provided the 'bisbalencs', small puff pastry bites filled with angel hair. Jordi is an ambassador for the cuisine and produce of L'Escala, where he was born, grew up, and where he works at the restaurant El Molí. And L'Escala has always been linked to fishing since ancient times: studies indicate that between the 17th and 18th centuries, fishermen from Empúries and Roses settled there and it became a town.

On the journey that separates the ultra-modern Istanbul airport from Sile, the small coastal town about 70 kilometers from the city, there is a constant gaze that appears everywhere. We find it on flags and banners. It is that of Mustafa Kemal, better known as Atatürk. If the father of all Turks is an ever-present figure, today he is even more so. It is August 30th and they are celebrating Victory Day. In 1922, the Turks defeated Greek forces at the Battle of Dumlupinar, a key military milestone for the birth of modern Turkey. But talking about the 20s of the last century is like talking about the day before yesterday, considering the past of the land where we find ourselves. The very town of Sile, which also gives its name to the district, already existed in 700 BC. Since then, they have been a fishing village facing the Black Sea. With a lighthouse that has guided sailors since the Ottoman period. This region, now turned into a summer holiday area for the people of the great metropolis, keeps many things intact: its forests, the quality of the products offered thanks to the rich soil, and the weight of craftsmanship. Here, a historical event that happened more than a hundred years ago is younger than the yeast with which Mrs. Fatma makes her vinegar, which is 200 years old.

All four of them appear there, at a stop halfway through the journey, with the fun attitude of a family vacation. These motorhome trips are also behind the Xerigots space that Gemma Urgell and her partner, Jordi Bertran, created in Vilafranca del Penedès. Now they have published Formatges (Rosa dels Vents), with recipes and advice, and also the explanation of their trade: that of a cheese refiner.

The prickly pear is an invasive plant. This is indicated by the catalogue of species created by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainability of the Government of Catalonia, which lists up to three different types: Opuntia maxima; Opuntia dillenii and Opuntia stricta. They come from Central America, especially, and have spread en masse throughout Catalonia. It is invasive because it competes with and displaces natural vegetation, which is why it does not have a good reputation. But since it is everywhere, it is cut and it sprouts again, a good remedy is to eat its fruits. However, it is true that it is one thing to say it and another to do it, because it is not easy at all.

Do you have guests over for a snack today? Do you want to cook with the kids? Or do you simply feel like putting on an apron? Make this apple pie proposed by the chef of the Semproniana restaurant, Ada Parellada. It is very simple, too.

Since we want to age well, we have assumed by osmosis that we must take supplements: magnesium in the morning, creatine and vitamin D in the afternoon, and melatonin at night to sleep better. And we take them because we have heard that they are good for aging healthily. Maybe our friends have told us, or we have read it on social media, but what we have forgotten is that if you eat healthily, which means vegetables and fruits, legumes, fish, meat, and nuts, you don't need any of them at all. "We know that 75% of the country's population has taken one during the last year," says the dietitian-nutritionist at the Alícia Foundation, Alba Coll, who gave a lecture at Món Sant Benet, organized by the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition. The figure is significant: 75%. It is clear, then, that supplementation is the latest trend in food, promoted and bombarded by a thousand and one channels that impact the population over fifty years old. And why is all this happening? Because the population aged 60 and over represents 15% of the global population, and therefore, 27% of global spending. The industry knows that this sector of the population represents a silver economy, as it is popularly called. And it will be even more so, because in 2050, the population over 60 will be even more numerous, according to data from the World Economic Forum.

Freixenet will sponsor this year's TV3 New Year's Eve broadcast. This has been learned by ARA from sources in the wine sector and confirmed by the director of the public television station, Sigfrid Gras, who explained that the decision has been approved by the board of directors for days. Since the Catalan company Estrella Damm was the sponsor last December 31st, sparkling wine producers had shown their discontent because such a special toast was made with beer and, moreover, with the presenters, Miki Núñez and Laura Escanes, drinking directly from the bottle and not from a glass. Following the controversy that arose the very next day after the broadcast, TV3 made it known that it had been an exceptional case because Estrella Damm had turned 150 years old and, therefore, cava had been sidelined. The Catalan brewery, for its part, declared that the New Year's Eve toast was exciting for them in a year like 2026 and that they considered it the first of many commemorative events throughout the year. All of this led TV3 to insist that toasting with beer had been an exception and that it was committed to continuing to show glasses full of bubbles.

Eating from a set menu remains one of the common options for dining out, but it is becoming a bit more expensive each time. The price of the daily menu now reaches 14.7 euros on average in Spain, compared to 14.2 euros in 2025. This represents an increase of 3.5% in one year, according to the latest survey by Hostelería de España and Edenred, which analyzes the evolution of prices and the habits of establishments.

Eva and Alberto share almost everything: life, work, and also a way of understanding Gràcia, the neighborhood where they live and where three years ago they decided to open a restaurant. They have been a couple for thirteen years, and when they started looking for a place to set up their own business, they were clear: they wanted to create what they felt was missing in their neighborhood. "There is a lot on offer here, there is everything, but we noticed that there were no restaurants that felt like home. And we decided to create it ourselves," explains Eva.