A jazz concert with cheese and sherry tasting, an edible hat workshop and a festival of literature and gastronomy are just a few of the things planned for Gastrofestival Madrid. From 31 January until 15 February, this great gastronomic event celebrates its sixth edition, with an activity-packed programme presented today by Mayor Ana Botella, and in which culinary art is combined with other disciplines including painting, fashion, film and literature. As the Mayor emphasised, "this is a hugely high-profile event showcasing the quality and variety of Madrid's gastronomy scene and putting our city in the spotlight as a world-class centre of culinary art".

This year, two of the city's leading cultural venues, Conde Duque Cultural Centre and Matadero Madrid, are taking part in the event for the first time.

Over 400 companies and public and private institutions are involved in this gastronomic festival promoted by the City Council via the municipal company Madrid Destino and the Tourism Department, in collaboration with Madrid Fusión. Plus, this year's event is sponsored by Mahou, Zumosol, Hard Rock Café, El Tenedor, JCDecaux, Mercados de Madrid and Elle.

The festival strengthens Madrid's position as a top destination for lovers of fine food. The average spend of each foreign visitor to the city is 1,220 euros, the highest across the whole of Spain, where the average is 1,002 euros. The Mayor commented on the fact that food and drink account for 14% of the total amount of money spent by visitors. "This means that in the last twelve months, up to November, overseas tourists spent more than 670 million euros in our city on food alone" she highlighted.

What to expect
From wine and food tastings to courses, concerts, talks and workshops, it's all happening at Gastrofestival Madrid. All activities are structured around seven themes, which makes choosing your events an easy task: "Gastronomic Madrid", "Gastroculture", "Sensory Experiences", "Gastrofashion", "Gastrohealth", "Design and Gastronomy" and "Enoculture".

The programme features the ever-popular culinary activities "Degustatapas", "Dinner with the Stars", "Restaurants with menus at 25 euros" and "Restaurants with menus at 40 euros", not to mention some exciting new additions plus a few surprises.

Conde Duque and Matadero Madrid
Conde Duque Cultural Centre will be one of the main settings for the "Days of Music and Flavours" season and literary activities. The schedule includes three fantastic events: performances of two gastronomy-themed tonadillas or short musical comedies, "La caracolera y el amolador" ("The snail seller and the knife grinder") and "El confitero" ("The confectioner") (5 and 6 February), set to scores held by the Historic Municipal Library; the "Jazz, Cheese & Sherry" concerts, combining jazz with wine and cheese tastings (12 and 13 February); plus a gastronomic stroll through the flavours featured in works by author Gabriel García Márquez (3 February).

Matadero Madrid's first involvement with Gastrofestival Madrid is an edible hats workshop run by the Madrid Designers' Association (DIMAD) and the sensory "True Coffee Experience" (13 to 15 February). Participants can sample coffees from the world's leading coffee-producing countries, meet some top Spanish coffee professionals and find out about the latest trends in this sector.

First Archigula Festival
This year, Gastrofestival Madrid welcomes the first Archigula Festival, where literature and gastronomy go hand in hand. Renowned chefs will be cooking recipes featured in some of the most famous culinary novels, while acclaimed writers will be talking about the relationship between literature and gastronomy.

All this is scheduled to take place from 6 to 8 February at A Punto Centro Cultural del Gusto, with the participation of writers Maruja Torres, Juan José Millás and Eduardo Mendoza, who will be accompanied by chefs Abraham García (Viridiana), Sacha Hormaechea (Sacha) and Miguel López Castanier (El Chiscón).

Museums
Madrid?s museums have once again signed up to the event and are planning a series of special activities to celebrate. The Prado, Thyssen, Sorolla and Cerralbo museums, the Garment Museum, the Lázaro Galdiano Museum, the Museum of Anthropology, the Museum of Romanticism, and the National Museum of Decorative Arts are all running educational tours, exhibitions and workshops.

12 Michelin stars
Gastrofestival is once again showcasing Madrid's gastronomy scene, which gets better all the time. Proof of this are the new Michelin stars earned by some of Madrid's chefs in the 2015 edition of this guide. As the Mayor said, "with these latest awards, Madrid now has 12 restaurants in the Michelin Guide with a total of 19 stars, compared to the previous 9 restaurants with 16 stars, and the city has consolidated its reputation as one of the top culinary destinations in Spain and in Europe."

Ana Botella added: "And, in addition to these amazing venues, the more than eight million tourists who flock to Madrid every year can enjoy excellent quality food and drink on offer in over 3,000 restaurants, bars, gourmet establishments and markets across the capital".

You can find out all about Gastrofestival Madrid by visiting www.gastrofestivalmadrid.com./