The capital's top gastronomy and culture event is back. The ninth edition of Gastrofestival Madrid will be held from 20 January to 4 February and will feature an extensive programme that will explore the culinary arts, combining them with other artistic disciplines such as painting, literature, music, film, theatre, photography, design and fashion. The event is organised by the Madrid City Council, through Madrid Destino Tourism Department, as well as by Madrid Fusión, and it will feature the participation and collaboration of some 450 establishments and institutions, including restaurants, cocktail bars, cooking schools, gourmet and kitchenware shops, museums, art galleries and fashion retailers.

Gastrofestival Solidarity
At this edition, the festival programme?s six main categories (Gastronomic Madrid, Gastroculture, Sensory Experiences, Wine Culture, Gastrofashion and Gastrohealth) will become seven as a new category, Gastrofestival Solidarity, joins their ranks. The aim is to contribute towards helping people with fewer resources. To this end, many of the restaurants taking part in this edition will donate a portion of the money they collect from each Gastrofestival set menu to the NGO Action Against Hunger. The bookshop TUUULIBRERÍA will also join forces with Chefugee to hold a charitable event devoted to literature and cooking.

Furthermore, two new sections will make their debut. The first is Gastrobocatas, in the Gastronomic Madrid category, which will give a pinch of glamour to the bocadillo, a sandwich made with crusty bread. It will offer bread and fillings made from quality ingredients and perfect combinations, like the bocadillos at El Porrón Canalla, made by chef Juanjo López, or the ones at Jhon Barrita, designed by Javi Estévez using bread from La Panotheca. There?s also the magnificent combination of ham bocadillo with champagne.

The other new addition, in the Gastrofashion category, is GastroDeco, which will include offerings like the workshop Food&Crafts and Craftsmanship Applied to Cooking, which will enable participants to discover new forms of culinary creation based on the techniques of traditional crafts like pottery, leatherworking and woodworking, taught by three specialised designers. There?s also the Architectural Tapas tasting session, organised by COAM, the Official College of Architects of Madrid.

A Taster of the Activities in Store
Over the 16 days of the festival, visitors and residents of Madrid will be able to enjoy some interesting culinary propositions and activities linked to and/or paired with gastronomy.

Once again Conde Duque will be one of Gastrofestival Madrid?s main cultural hubs. The centre will host activities as enticing as BarrocoGlam, Cheese & Wine, a tasting session that will be paired with expert opinions and the music of Ars Divina. You?ll also be able to enjoy Cock Fight (in Six Sips), three attacks on traditional wine tastings and wine world stereotypes, in the form of a debate between six winemakers. A Socratic wine tasting and a special film series will round out the Gastrofestival programme offered at this municipal centre.

More than twenty museums have confirmed their participation in this edition, and will offer some unique and interesting activities. The Decorative Arts Museum, for example, will offer a guided tour of its Valencian kitchen. Its painted tiles provide valuable clues as to what used to be done there and the types of foods that were served, as well as why and how. The visit will include a tasting of hot chocolate from San Ginés.

Once again Madrid?s municipal markets will take part in this gastronomic fiesta, with interesting offerings that cement their position at the forefront of local and high-quality food distribution, and as a great complement to the city?s wide range of gastronomy. Markets like those of Antón Martín, Barceló, La Paz, Los Mostenses, San Enrique, Vallehermoso and Tirso de Molina will offer everything from gastronomic workshops to special tapas and tastings of wine and/or other goodies. In addition, once again Mercamadrid will host the activity ?Enjoy Mercamadrid with Juan Pozuelo?, a guided tour conducted by the Madrid-born chef, who will share his knowledge and passion for ingredients with participants. Collaborating on this edition, with solidarity as a key focus, will be Gastronomía Solidaria, an NGO created by chef Chema de Isidro that is dedicated to the culinary training, social integration and job placement of young people at risk of social exclusion.

Roberto Ranero's photography exhibition Chef to Face on the rooftop terrace of Círculo de Bellas Artes, a tasting session featuring edible flowers and sweets at the florist?s Fransen et Lafite, and wine and other tasting sessions at Montsequi Art Gallery are just a few more examples of all that Gastrofestival Madrid 2018 will have to offer./