Vitoria, Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2014

The Jury of the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy award, meeting in Madrid, on the morning of Tuesday, December 17, has decided to choose the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz as the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2014, as revealed by chef Adolfo Muñoz in a event held at the Palacio de Cibeles Restaurant. The city of Alava will take over from Burgos, which has held the title during 2.013.

In the final vote, the city Vitoria-Gasteiz prevailed over the three candidates Valencia (Valencian Community), Huesca (Aragon) and Sant Carles de la Ràpita (Catalonia). “One is the chosen one, but all win,” the Jury pointed out. “It encourages the chosen city to carry out joint activities with the cities that have not been and that they continue to present themselves for the award in future editions.”

The Jury expresses “His congratulations to the four candidate cities for the gastronomic quality of their respective offers that represent four very prominent styles of Spanish cuisine”. The Jury wants to highlight “The excellent level of the technical projects presented and wants to encourage the cities that this time have not achieved the award to continue on the path of improving their gastronomic offer, promoting products and promoting gastronomic tourism as a source of wealth and employment . “

With the recognition of Vitoria, the Jury pays tribute “To the indisputable prestige and quality of Basque cuisine, both for its traditional offer and for the path of innovation and creativity initiated in recent years by its renowned chefs, reaching the most prestigious individual and collective awards in the gastronomic world. True gastronomic legends such as Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena, Martin Berasategui, Pedro Subijana, David de Jorge, Karlos Arguiñano and his sister Eva, or the television Alberto Chicote, trust in Vitoria and publicly endorse the quality of Vitoria cuisine by publicly expressing their support and commitment to Vitoria-Gasteiz “

According to the Jury, for the candidacy of Vitoria-Gasteiz, institutional capital of the Basque Country and headquarters of its institutions of self-government, it has structured its offer on two axes:

“The social unanimity reached in support of the candidacy of Vitoria. The City Council has been able to listen and collect the initiative that emerged from the hospitality sector, channel it into a compact Dossier and configure seamless institutional support, which has the backing of the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Álava. Along with this important institutional endorsement, more than 10.000 signatures of Basque citizens have been attached who with their signatures, collected through the Internet and in signature sheets in the hotel and catering establishments, support the Candidacy. “

The Jury considers that “The program of activities proposed by Vitoria is imaginative, intense and open to participation. From its recent organizational experience as the “Green Capital” of Europe declared by the European Commission, Vitoria proposes a program whose keys are: Citizen involvement; tourism development of the event and commitment to carry out the scheduled events. Thus, the specific training program for the local hospitality sector stands out; recover and promote the typical dish of Alava’s culinary identity; turn Vitoria into the city of aperitifs; develop showcooking actions with chefs from the other candidate cities and the former capitals; the solidarity dinner, etc “.

The main events planned are: