8 companies, 7 wineries and 2 chefs from catalonia participate until friday in worlds of flavor in napa valley

santa helena (napa valley, california) april 20, 2016. - 8 companies, 7 wineries and 2 chefs from catalonia participate from today until friday in the leading american food event, worlds of flavor celebrated on the santa helena greystone campus (napa valley, california). this year the event will see the presence of 800 top management figures from restaurant and hotel chains, as well as operators and chefs, coming to see the latest international culinary trends. 

the catalan government, through catalonia trade & investment agency, has organised a trade mission to the united states, led by the minister of business and knowledge of catalonia, jordi baiget. during worlds of flavor, the catalan chefs mateu casañas and sergio andreu – from the restaurants disfrutar and la pepita, respectively – will prepare different dishes in the event’s marketplace in order to raise awareness among the congress attendants on catalan gastronomic trends and the symbiosis between traditional catalan cuisine, innovation and local products. 

the 8 companies which have travelled to the united states are cadí, moritz, casa pons, caviaroli, inpanasa, priorat natur, sosa ingredients and urgasa. also, the wineries, represented via a team from catalonia trade & investment, are caves torelló, mas bertran, agrícola sant josep, celler mas d’en blei, molí parellada, cellers unió and buil & giné. 

the event will allow these companies to network with other visitors and to participate in the more than 60 seminars held within the framework of the congress, organised by the culinary institute of america (cia), the world’s most prestigious university in the culinary training and food science field, and that has campuses in new york, texas, california and singapore. 

furthermore, and as part of the year of gastronomy and wine tourism, the catalan tourist board will present within the congress a sensorial presentation of catalonia. attendants will be able to taste catalan products, listen to the sound of a patum (a traditional catalan street celebration characterised by the use of firecrackers) and live the experience of being a casteller (the people who join together to form human towers) or of fishing in catalonia, thanks to 360º panoramic videos seen with vr glasses. the event will close with attendants being offered seeds of catalan products – scallions, tomatoes from montserrat, rice from the delta, etc. – so they can take a bit of catalonia back home with them. 

catalonia and gastronomy 

this year catalonia was named the european region of gastronomy 2016. this distinction was made by the platform of european gastronomy regions, through the igcat association (international institute of gastronomy, culture, arts and tourism). the goal of the catalonia european region of gastronomy 2016 is to promote catalan gastronomy, food tourism and the catalan food and drink products, as strategic sectors of catalonia and also as essential, defining elements of the catalonia’s identity. 

catalonia received this award thanks to the extremely high level of its cuisine. catalonia is home to el celler de can roca, named twice as the world’s best restaurant, and is also the land of world famous chefs such as ferran adrià, who revolutionised the concept of cooking and gastronomy, joan roca, carles gaig, sergi arola and carme ruscalleda, who was named ambassador of the european region of gastronomy 2016. furthermore, catalonia has 60 stars in the michelin guide 2016, spread out among 50 restaurants.