The gastronomic exhibitions at this 12th edition of the fair invite you to discover how the island's cuisine combines tradition and avant-garde.
Renowned chefs will share techniques, recipes, and ideas to combine the fun of cooking with sustainability and innovation.
The culinary richness of Gran Canaria, which fuses culinary tradition with avant-garde cuisine, will be the centerpiece of the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair's gastronomic exhibition program, taking place from May 9 to 11. With the aim of educating, surprising, and motivating attendees, the fair has prepared a series of gastronomic exhibitions in which local produce takes center stage.
Throughout the weekend, Pavilion 5 of Infecar, Feria de Gran Canaria, will host an intense program of gastronomic exhibitions led by renowned chefs and industry professionals, who will showcase live techniques, creative fusions, and preparations that inspire a rethinking of cooking with local produce. Each session is an invitation to discover new ways of cooking and consuming, without losing sight of the origin of the ingredients.
Friday will begin with offerings such as pastries featuring local fruits from Yeray Reyes and Dana Joher of Ave Pastelería, accompanied by pastry chef José Javier Rodríguez Medina, and fusion cuisine featuring global flavors from Christian Ramírez and Manuel Vilariño, chefs at Aquarela and La Palmera Sur, respectively. In the afternoon, a surprising pairing of land and sea by Aridani Alonso of Casa Romántica and Genésis Hernández of El Zarcillo, an event sponsored by Hiperdino, will give way to a gastronomic exhibition hosted by SPAR Gran Canaria, featuring chef Lolo Román, followed by the Awards Ceremony of the 19th Official Gran Canaria Honey Competition.
Saturday's event will be notable for its focus on innovation, with a program centered on the sustainable cuisine of the future. Chefs such as Adrián García of the Poemas restaurant and Francesca Hunt of Berro Bistró will present alternatives based on plant-based proteins and insects, while the afternoon will conclude with exhibitions including pairings and tastings by brands such as SPAR, Jucarne, Isola, Tirma, and Aperitivos Snack.
Leftover cooking will be the focus of a second exhibition sponsored by Hiperdino on Sunday. This time, Ruymán González, chef of Los Guayres, and Kilian Nordelo of La Catedral Bistró will demonstrate how to transform underutilized ingredients into gourmet dishes. Also included will be creative tapas, quick bites with local identity, by Manuel García of Morro Colorao and Andrés Rodríguez of Échale Mojo, as well as a gastronomic exhibition organized by Hiperdino.
At midday, a heartfelt inclusive event will take place under the title "My Son and I," in which chefs Andrés Rodríguez, from Échale Mojo, and Jenisse Ferrari, from Qué Leche, will cook alongside a group of children from the association of the same name, with whom they will prepare three recipes based on local produce.
Ferrari and Rodríguez are regular trainers for the "Cocina inspira" initiative, through which the association helps its members adopt richer, more varied, and more appealing diets. On this occasion, they will guide the young chefs in creating a sama ceviche taco with Agaete shrimp, a black pork ingot with a mix of Atlantic textures, and Tirma chocolate bars with popcorn foam and crunchy peanuts.
The day, and with it the program of culinary exhibitions, will be closed by chef Patrizia Di Leo, who will present a fusion cuisine based on pizza making, entitled 'A Casa Mía'.
Employment and Gastronomy Meeting
In addition to the gastronomic exhibition program organized for this 12th edition, the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair will hold, for the first time this year, a Gran Canaria Me Gusta Employment and Gastronomy Meeting, a new space where companies, professionals, and students can exchange knowledge, learn, and explore new employment and professional development opportunities.
Organized by the Gran Canaria Island Council, the Chamber of Commerce, Infecar and the Innova Gastrocan Cluster, the event will be held on May 9, from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m. in the Bandama Room, and will feature the experience of several gastronomy professionals: chef José Luis Espino, sommelier Alba Bernal and the cook and owner of the Támbara Group, Manuel Vilariño, who will explain their professional careers to young people and answer their questions in a round table where they will interact with the attendees.
The Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair thus reaffirms its mission to be more than just a gastronomic event: it becomes a meeting point for reflecting on how we eat and the impact our choices have, but also on how we can, from the kitchen, transform our relationship with our environment, help preserve the "good work" of Canarian professionals, and learn to protect local products.
The exhibits are free to enter with admission to the fair, which can now be purchased online. fairgrancanariamegusta.es, a unique opportunity to learn and be inspired by the best of Gran Canarian cuisine.
The Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair is promoted and funded by the Gran Canaria Island Council and organized by Infecar, Feria de Gran Canaria. Cajasiete is an official partner, along with the Gran Canaria Me Gusta initiative and the Gran Canaria Chamber of Commerce. This 2025 edition is sponsored by SPAR Gran Canaria and Hiperdino, and Comercial Naranjo is the equipment sponsor.
