Today, Barcelona ​​World Sustainable Food Capital 2021 presented its project for a Menu for each Season, which it will propose during the year. The ingredients on the menu are seasonal and are suggested as examples of a healthy and sustainable diet for each time of year. The menus have been designed by the city’s hospitality schools – the Hotel and Tourism School [Escola d’Hoteleria i Turisme], the School of Hospitality and Tourism [Escola Superior d’Hostaleria i Turisme], and the School of Hospitality of Barcelona [Escola Superior d’Hostaleria de Barcelona] (ESHOB) and will be included in those menus of the metropolitan area’s restaurants that wish to take part in the project in what is one of the bar and restaurant industry’s main channels for collaboration with the World Sustainable Food Capital 2021. Before the campaign has even started, almost a hundred establishments have already joined, and this is without even counting the food and drink services of places such as the Tibidabo amusement park of Barcelona Zoo.

One of the Sustainable Food Capital’s main goals is to draw a path that positions food policies as a driver of social and ecological change in Barcelona city. In relation to this, one of the core areas of the event involves bringing about a paradigm shift in how citizens feed themselves. The bar and restaurant sector, which has been hit extremely hard by the health crisis, plays a significant role in the transformation of the food system, and the World Sustainable Food Capital event can at the same time play a role in revitalising it. Therefore, the menus, which have been developed in collaboration with a number of renowned chefs, are presented as healthy and sustainable options that can be replicated by restaurants. This is one of the most effective ways to give members of the public clear examples of how to eat healthily, sustainably and using products that can be easily found on the market.

The campaign is being launched at a time when the bar and restaurant industry is suffering as a result of the health crisis. The campaign therefore also aims to help reactivate this industry by highlighting an economic and social sector that is key to the city with a project for the future linked to new sustainable consumption trends. For all the above reasons, this project has been created in collaboration with the various players of the food and restaurant industry. In addition to all this, the project helps highlight the role of the local farming industry and its financial viability.

Specifically, the Spring Menu was presented today at an event attended by the mayor of Barcelona, ​​Ada Colau, the chef Carme Ruscalleda, and the Councillor for Trade, Markets and Consumer Affairs, Montserrat Ballarín, with the city’s three hospitality schools preparing on-site three of the dishes included in this season’s gastronomic proposal:

• Peas with mint, yam and sour tomato
• Coca de vidre bread, roasted vegetables, marinated sardines with mustard and rocket salad
• Strawberries with organic yoghurt and white chocolate.

You can find the various seasonal dishes proposed and the list of participating restaurants on the website alimentaciosostenible.barcelona/menuestacions

Creation of the Menus for Each Season

Each of the four Menus for each Season to be proposed during 2021 includes nine seasonal ingredients and local products from the metropolitan area. Restaurants wishing to take part in the initiative must include on their menu at least two of the dishes/ingredients proposed.

The menus, which have been created by the chefs of the Hotel and Tourism School (CETT) Albert Gallardo, the Jesuïtes Sarrià-Sant Ignasi School of Hospitality and Tourism Xavier Gruber, and the School of Hospitality of Barcelona (ESHOB) Jordi Narro, have all been designed to enable all restaurants in Barcelona to adapt their own menus and offer them to customers, regardless of their cooking style, the price of their menu or their own particular characteristics. The proposal has been designed taking into account the opinions of various organisations specialising in the world of cuisine, design and nutrition: Restaurant Pellicer, Fundació Alícia, Restaurants Sostenibles, ExquisEAT, Restaurants verds, Plataforma aprofitem els aliments (PAA), CUINA magazine, and Slow Food Barcelona

In addition, a number of organisations are collaborating with the project to bring the initiative to as many restaurants as possible. The Barcelona Restaurateurs’ Guild, Slowfood Barcelona, ​​Barcelona Restaurants Sostenibles, the Barcelona Hotel Guild, Red de Juderías and Turisme de Barcelona are also taking part in this task.

Establishments taking part in the initiative will be identified by means of World Sustainable Food Capital 2021 artwork (such as a sticker for the door, artwork for the menu, and digital elements to include on their websites and social media), which will be provided by the organisation so they can prove their participation to customers.

This is the first of a set of cuisine and food and restaurant industry initiatives to be carried out within the framework of Barcelona World Sustainable Food Capital 2021. The Gastronòmic Forum Barcelona, a sustainable food event with over 20,000 participants organised by Fira de Barcelona and featuring a variety of debate and education activities, will thus be held in October in parallel with the Forum of Cities of the Milan Pact.