Third time’s a appeal: Andalucia metropolis named Spain’s 2026 Gastronomy Capital after getting into the competitors for the third yr in a row

TRADITION, wine, sustainability, and a love for good meals have earned the Cadiz metropolis of Jerez de la Frontera the title of Spain’s Gastronomy Capital 2026.

After three years of dedication – with its earlier entries dropping to Oviedo (2024) and Alicante (2025) – Jerez has lastly claimed the title.

The town’s wealthy culinary heritage, from dishes like sherry-infused kidneys to its cabbage stew, helped win over a panel of judges from the tourism and hospitality sectors. 

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Jerez didn’t simply depend on its recipes to safe the win – during the last yr, the town launched the ‘Eat, drink, love Jerez’ undertaking to showcase the town’s id by meals. 

The initiative, led by Jerez mayor Maria Jose Garcia-Pelayo, included over 50 actions which allowed each locals and vacationers to style the town’s delicacies. 

The undertaking paired native delicacies, such because the dessert tocino de cielo – a deal with fabricated from egg yolks, sugar and water that’s usually confused with custard – with native wines. 

It even included a tune which was promoted by native eating places to replicate how Jerez’s gastronomy is tied to different cultural components within the metropolis.

Moreover, the town is dedicated to sustainability and emphasises native, seasonal sourcing. It additionally locations lots of its eating places and bodegas in historic buildings.

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On account of this undertaking, Jerez’s software for Spanish gastronomy capital was based mostly on 4 themes: its conventional meals and historic wines, the best way that gastronomy interacts with the town’s different cultural expressions, the expertise of the gastronomy, and sustainability. 

Created in 2012, the title of Spanish Gastronomy Capital honours a metropolis that not solely excels in meals, but in addition makes use of gastronomy to attract tourism and have a good time tradition.

This yr, as winners, Jerez is more likely to see an inflow of vacationers who wish to strive the town’s dishes and expertise how gastronomy acts as a part of its cultural heritage.

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