Gastronomic Forum Barcelona 2026 – Spain

What to expect

Gastronomic Forum Barcelona is a major professional trade fair for gastronomy, hospitality, restaurants and the foodservice industry. It brings together chefs, restaurateurs, food producers, distributors, hospitality professionals, technology companies, equipment manufacturers, specialist retailers and other businesses involved in the professional food and hospitality value chain.

The event combines a commercial exhibition with an extensive programme of live cooking, tastings, talks, workshops, debates, competitions and professional networking. Its purpose is not simply to showcase food products but to create opportunities for businesses to discover new suppliers, examine market trends, exchange knowledge and develop commercial relationships.

A central theme of the 2026 programme is “Revisiting Tradition.” The concept explores how culinary heritage can be preserved while being reinterpreted through contemporary techniques, changing consumer preferences and modern restaurant models. The organizers emphasize identity, memory, territory, sustainability and innovation as important elements of the programme.

Main highlights

• Professional gastronomy and foodservice exhibition
• Live showcooking demonstrations
• Tastings and chef-led workshops
• High-level culinary talks and debates
• Catalan and regional cuisine
• Sustainable and local food production
• Restaurant technology and digitalisation
• Bakery, pastry and confectionery
• Hospitality equipment and machinery
• New food products and ingredients
• Professional networking and business meetings
• Culinary competitions and awards
• Key Buyer programme
• More than 450 companies expected in the exhibition

The new venue provides a larger and more modern environment for the event, allowing the organizers to expand the exhibition and create dedicated areas for cooking, debate, sustainability, local producers and professional interaction.

Event dates

Gastronomic Forum Barcelona 2026 will take place from 2–4 November 2026 at Hall 1 of Fira Barcelona Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain.

The official visitor schedule is 10:00 AM–7:00 PM throughout the three-day event. The programme includes activities running from the morning into the evening, with individual sessions having their own starting and finishing times.

Visitors should consult the official agenda before attending because workshops, tastings and other activities can have limited capacity or optional advance reservations.

Visiting this event? Don’t miss out on these amazing activities and local experiences while you’re here.

Venue & exhibition site

Gastronomic Forum Barcelona will take place at Hall 1, Fira Barcelona Gran Via.

The official venue address is:

Fira Barcelona Gran Via
Av. Joan Carles I, 64
08908 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat
Barcelona, Spain

The move to Gran Via represents a major change for the event, providing a larger exhibition environment with modern facilities and improved space for exhibitors and visitors. The organizers specifically identify Hall 1 as the new home of the fair.

The venue is located in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, within the Barcelona metropolitan area, and is well connected to Barcelona Airport and central Barcelona by metro, rail, bus and road.

The exhibition environment is designed to support both business activity and culinary programming. Visitors can move between exhibitor stands, cooking areas, conference spaces, tasting sessions and partner rooms.

Full event programme

The programme is built around the idea of reconnecting culinary tradition with contemporary gastronomy. Rather than treating tradition as something static, the organizers use it as a starting point for innovation.

Auditori

The Auditori is the principal stage, with an auditorium-style configuration and tiered seating. Some presentations include tastings, giving visitors an opportunity to connect the discussion with the food being presented.

Taller

The Taller area focuses on live cooking sessions followed by tastings. It provides closer interaction between chefs and attendees and is particularly suited to practical culinary demonstrations.

Forum Lab

Forum Lab combines debates, live cooking, baking activities, competitions and awards. It provides a more varied programme covering both culinary practice and current issues affecting the hospitality sector.

Catalonia’s Pantry

This partner area highlights Catalan agricultural and food producers, with participation from the provincial councils of Barcelona, Girona and Lleida together with Prodeca.

Aula d’alimentació sostenible Barcelona

This area focuses on organic and local producers and hosts activities related to sustainable gastronomy in collaboration with Fundación Restaurantes Sostenibles.

Aula Makro

Makro uses this space for live cooking and presentations focused on contemporary food trends and professional culinary knowledge.

Key speakers & keynote speakers

Gastronomic Forum Barcelona features a strong lineup of chefs, restaurateurs, foodservice specialists, technology professionals, producers and industry experts.

Confirmed culinary figures include:

• Abel Valverde of Desde 1911
• Albert Raurich of Dos Palillos
• Josean Alija of Nerua
• Xune Andrade of Monte
• Joan Carles Ibáñez of Lasarte
• Marianna Suárez d’Alessandro of Celler de Can Roca
• Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch of Disfrutar
• Paco Pérez of Miramar and Enoteca
• Pere Monje of Via Veneto
• Quique Dacosta
• Javier Olleros of Culler de Pau
• Nacho Manzano of Casa Marcial
• Artur Martínez of Trü
• Oliver Peña of Mineral
• Marc Ribas of El Ciri
• Andrés Torres of Casa Nova

The wider speaker directory also includes professionals such as Yanet Acosta of The Foodie Studies, Alba Aguilera from Port of Barcelona & Arenys de Mar, Enric Badia of Forn Elias & Baking School BS, Martí Morató of Go Zero Waste and Adrià Navarro of Welbilt Iberia.

The 2026 lineup places particular emphasis on chefs and professionals who interpret regional identity through contemporary cuisine.

Conference sessions & tracks

The programme covers much more than traditional cooking demonstrations. It addresses the commercial, technological, environmental and cultural issues shaping modern hospitality.

Culinary heritage

The central theme explores how traditional recipes, ingredients, techniques and cultural memories can be preserved while being adapted to contemporary dining.

Regional cuisines

Chefs from Catalonia, Andalusia, Galicia, Madrid and other territories present different approaches to local culinary identity. The programme uses regional cuisine as a way to examine the relationship between territory, tradition and creativity.

Sustainable gastronomy

Local sourcing, organic production, responsible restaurant models, food waste reduction and sustainable food systems receive dedicated attention.

Restaurant technology

Sessions examine artificial intelligence, digitalisation, payment systems, automation, refrigeration, traceability and management technology.

The dining room

Front-of-house professionals discuss service, hospitality, restaurant culture and the role of the dining room in the complete customer experience.

Bakery and pastry

Professional baking and confectionery are represented through demonstrations, competitions, specialist workshops and awards.

Gourmet bars

The programme also examines the evolution of restaurant bars as gastronomic spaces, including live preparation and contemporary approaches to bar cuisine.

Session times & schedule

The official agenda contains programming from the morning through the evening, with sessions distributed between the Auditori, Taller, Forum Lab and partner rooms.

Some sessions begin at 10:00 AM, while workshops and demonstrations continue through the afternoon. The programme also contains later sessions focused on culinary debates, competitions, awards and professional topics.

Examples of the published programme include:

• Corpus of Catalan Cuisine
• French artisan charcuterie
• The Power of the Dining Room
• Catalan cuisine presented internationally
• New technology trends in the restaurant industry
• Successful gastronomic bars
• Marine charcuterie
• The revolution of the sofrito
• Keys to communication in gastronomy
• Barcelona Slow Food Guide
• Contemporary Catalan cuisine
• Regional culinary traditions

Many activities are free once the visitor has access to the fair, although selected workshops allow advance reservations for a small booking charge. The organizers state that activities themselves are free, while certain advance reservations cost approximately US$5.51.

Ticket types & registration

Gastronomic Forum Barcelona is a professional trade fair rather than a general public food festival. Access is intended for professionals working in gastronomy, hospitality, restaurants, foodservice and related commercial activities.

Professional visitor badge

The standard visitor badge provides access to the professional exhibition and programme. The official website currently directs visitors to its online registration system but does not display a reliable fixed public badge price in the accessible event pages. The organizers recommend registering online in advance to benefit from any available discounts.

Key Buyer badge

The Key Buyer Programme is intended for qualified national buyers, including general managers and purchasing managers from hospitality and restaurant chains, collective catering, independent restaurants and bars, accommodation businesses, specialist gourmet retailers, wine shops and restaurant franchises.

Press and content creator badges

Press professionals can apply for dedicated accreditation providing access to the exhibition, conferences, activities and press facilities. Content creators can also apply for a specialist badge subject to the organizer’s validation requirements.

Because no verified official public ticket price is currently displayed, it would be unreliable to invent a previous-edition admission price. The official registration portal should be used for the applicable visitor fee.

Registration deadlines

General professional registration is available through the official accreditation system. The organizers encourage visitors to purchase their badges online in advance.

Special programmes have separate requirements and deadlines.

Content creators

Applications for the blogger and influencer accreditation have a specific closing deadline published by the organizers.

Key Buyers

The Key Buyer Programme operates through a qualification and invitation process. Applicants must meet the required company activity and professional profile criteria.

Activities

Selected workshops can be reserved in advance. Because places can be limited, visitors interested in specific tastings or demonstrations should reserve through the official programme where the option is available.

Exhibitor list & major companies

The organizers expect more than 450 companies from the hospitality, gastronomy and foodservice sectors to participate, representing an increase over the previous edition. More than 93% of companies from the previous edition are expected to return.

Companies identified by the organizers include:

• Damm
• Makro
• Meritem
• Cuinats Jotri
• Grupo Borràs
• Torrent i Fills
• Garcimar
• Carnia
• Collverd
• Artesanía Congelada
• Herpac
• Caviaroli
• Mas Uniformes
• Garcia de Pou
• Randstech
• BonÀrea
• Transgourmet
• Mirfil
• Concept Pa
• Unox
• Innova Chef
• Menú Iberia
• Casa Tió
• Bidfood
• Cafés Pont
• Pordamsa
• Frigoríficos Ferrer

The exhibition also includes more than 200 small producers participating individually from different Spanish territories. Institutional participation includes Prodeca, the Xunta de Galicia and several provincial councils.

Exhibition halls & floor plan

The 2026 edition is concentrated in Hall 1 of Fira Barcelona Gran Via. The move to the new venue gives the event a modern exhibition environment and additional capacity.

Within the hall, visitors can find separate culinary and business areas rather than a simple conventional trade-show layout.

Auditori

Main presentations, chef talks and selected tasting sessions.

Taller

Hands-on cooking demonstrations and tasting-based workshops.

Forum Lab

Debates, cooking demonstrations, baking, competitions and awards.

Catalonia’s Pantry

A showcase for Catalan agricultural and food producers.

Aula d’alimentació sostenible Barcelona

A dedicated area for organic, local and sustainable food production.

Aula Makro

Live cooking and food-trend activities supported by Makro.

The official mobile application includes the exhibitor catalogue, product information, exhibitor locations and activity programme, making it particularly useful for navigating the hall.

Networking & business meetings

Networking is one of the central purposes of Gastronomic Forum Barcelona. The organizers position the event as a place where hospitality professionals can meet suppliers, discover products, establish commercial relationships and identify new business opportunities.

The official app contains a networking tool that allows visitors to connect with exhibitors and communicate with them directly. The app also allows users to search exhibitors by sector or category and review their products and stand locations.

Key Buyer meetings

Qualified buyers receive preferential access and a dedicated service designed to make supplier connections more productive.

Exhibitor networking

Companies can use the event to introduce products, demonstrate equipment, identify distributors and meet restaurant and hospitality buyers.

Producer connections

The presence of regional and small-scale producers gives professional buyers opportunities to discover products that may not be represented by larger national suppliers.

Technology partnerships

Technology companies can meet restaurant operators looking for better management, payment, traceability, kitchen and operational systems.

The combination of exhibition, demonstrations and direct communication makes the event particularly useful for professionals looking for practical supplier relationships rather than purely educational content.

Industry sectors & highlights

Gastronomic Forum Barcelona covers a broad range of professional gastronomy and foodservice categories.

Gastronomic products

The exhibition includes beverages, coffee and tea, frozen products, meat, seafood, dairy, fruit and vegetables, oils, rice, pasta, sauces, spices and pre-cooked food ranges.

Bakery and confectionery

Professional bakery, pastry, chocolate and ice cream businesses are represented through products, machinery, demonstrations and competitions.

Hospitality equipment

Kitchen equipment, professional machinery, refrigeration, freezers and industrial cleaning solutions form an important part of the trade offer.

Tableware and textiles

Utensils, cutlery, crockery, dining-room accessories, textiles and professional uniforms are also included.

Technology and software

The event features POS systems, online distribution platforms, restaurant applications, management systems, communications technology and other digital solutions.

Sustainability

Organic products, local sourcing, food waste reduction, responsible restaurant operations and sustainable production are increasingly important parts of the programme.

Hospitality services

Cleaning, hygiene, consultancy, interior design, furniture and professional publications round out the wider business offer.

Event rules & visitor information

Gastronomic Forum Barcelona is exclusively a professional trade fair. Visitors may be asked to demonstrate that they work for a commercial organization active in gastronomy, hospitality, foodservice or a related sector.

Professional access

The event is not intended for general public tourism or casual food-festival attendance.

Badge

The visitor badge is personal and non-transferable. It must be available digitally or in printed form when entering the venue.

Minors

People under 18 are generally not permitted to enter, with the organizer providing a limited exception for women with infants up to one year old.

Food sales

Direct product sales and street vending are not permitted at the professional fair.

Animals and personal transport

Animals are not permitted except where legally required, while bicycles, scooters, skateboards and similar items cannot be brought into the venue.

Wi-Fi

Free venue Wi-Fi is available to visitors.

How to get there

Fira Barcelona Gran Via is located at Av. Joan Carles I, 64, in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona.

The venue is approximately 12 kilometres from Barcelona Airport by road. It is connected to the airport by Metro Line L9 South, with Fira and Europa/Fira among the relevant stations. Bus Line 46 and taxis also provide airport connections.

Visitors travelling from central Barcelona can use metro, FGC trains, buses or taxis. The venue’s location in the metropolitan business district also provides direct road connections to major highways around Barcelona.

For international visitors, Barcelona-El Prat Airport is the most convenient major airport.

Public transport & parking

Public transport provides several practical options for reaching Gran Via.

Metro

Metro Line L9 South connects the venue with Barcelona Airport and the metropolitan transport network. Line L10 South serves Foc, while Fira and Europa/Fira provide convenient access to the exhibition complex.

FGC trains

Europa/Fira station is served by FGC services including S3, S4, S8, S9, R5 and R6.

Bus

TMB routes serving the area include H12, V1, 46, 65 and 79. Bus Line 46 also provides an airport connection.

Taxi

A taxi stop is located opposite the South Access around the Juan Carlos I area.

Parking

Fira Barcelona Gran Via has 4,580 parking spaces, with areas allocated for visitors and exhibitors.

The venue is also connected to major roads including the AP-7, AP-2, A-2, C-16, C-58, C-31, C-32 and C-33.

Accommodation areas

Visitors can choose accommodation close to the exhibition district or stay in central Barcelona.

L’Hospitalet de Llobregat

This is one of the most convenient areas for professionals who want short journeys to the venue. It includes business hotels and accommodation near major transport links.

Plaça d’Europa

The Plaça d’Europa area is particularly practical because of its metro and FGC connections and proximity to the Gran Via exhibition district.

Sants

Barcelona Sants is a good choice for visitors arriving by rail and provides convenient connections throughout the city.

Eixample

Eixample offers a large selection of hotels, restaurants, cafés and shops while maintaining good transport connections to Gran Via.

Central Barcelona

Staying around the city centre gives visitors easier access to Barcelona’s cultural attractions and nightlife, although the daily journey to the exhibition venue will be longer.

The organizers provide official accommodation and transport information through the registered-user area and recommend using their official travel provider for available offers.

Previous year’s highlights

The previous edition attracted 17,800 professional visitors, 350 exhibitors, more than 100 showcookings and talks, and more than 130 speakers. The chef lineup represented a combined total of 52 Michelin stars, highlighting the event’s strong connection with high-level gastronomy.

The previous edition provided a broad combination of product discovery, live culinary demonstrations, professional education and business networking.

Its exhibitor base included large foodservice companies as well as specialist producers and regional organizations. This mixture is an important characteristic of the event because buyers can compare large-scale suppliers with smaller producers and regional products.

The event also continued to emphasize culinary innovation and sustainability alongside traditional cooking. The strong presence of chefs allowed visitors to see techniques and concepts directly rather than simply reading about them in conference sessions.

The move to Gran Via represents the next stage of this development, with the organizers expecting more than 450 participating companies and a larger exhibition environment.

Official registration & tickets

Official registration is available through the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona website. Visitors should use the event’s official accreditation system rather than unofficial ticket sources.

The organizers recommend purchasing the visitor badge online in advance. Once registration is completed, the badge is available digitally through the official application or the registered-user area. Printing is not mandatory as long as the valid digital badge is available.

The official mobile application is particularly useful for registered visitors because it combines the digital badge, exhibitor catalogue, product information, activity programme and networking functions.

Professionals interested in the Key Buyer Programme must meet the relevant purchasing and company-profile requirements. Press and content creators have separate accreditation procedures.

The official website should be checked immediately before travelling for any changes to registration requirements, programme access, transport arrangements or visitor rules.