Since it could not be otherwise in this type of fair, all the products have a common characteristic: they are organic. Also there will be activities for the smallest of the house. The good environment and the music will reign during the whole morning.

During the last ten years there has been achieved that San Sebastian turns for a few days into the epicentre of the national and European Gastronomy, organizing one of the most prestigious events of the sector.

The carpet of the Kursaal has been welcomed the best coks of the Gastronomyc world. And it is going to continue doing it.

After this full time of successes it is the moment to evolve and explore new tracks.

At the same time San Sebastian Gastronomika will offer a congress of Hotel industry, conference halls, restaurants, pintxos, wines, infantile nourishment and, as innovative format, there have been created exclusive lessons, extraordinary gatherings and classrooms ” close up ” for limited groups.

The design of the congress, which represents a more interactive , participative and international era.

The congress San Sebastian Gastronomika is going to have two fundamental cores: ” The trajectory- the Memory of the Future -”, where, in duet format, big national and international cooks will make clear the way crossed by their cuisine up to coming to their last elaborations; and for the first time in San Sebastian, ” The infinite cuisines of Japan “, where we will be able to discover in Spanish sole right from the most advanced Japanese chefs - among them, the phenomenon Narisawa or the myth Hattori - to the big masters of the sushi, the entrails, the fritters and the mythical Kaiseki.

Off Gastronomika wants to advance, for its part, in the worlds of the Hotel industry, the conference halls, the infantile nourishment, the spits, the wine or the pintxos across thematic accounts and sensory classrooms of interactive intention.

The other activities, one of the big innovations of the congress, express from exclusive meetings - ” Gatherings with … ” - for approximately 30 persons, and private cuisine classrooms in close up for 15 persons with the big masters come from Japan.

Among the cooks who already have confirmed assistance: Ferran Adrià, Hilario Arbelaitz, Juan Mari y Elena Arzak, Alex Atala, Pascal Barbot, Martin Berasategui, Heston Blumenthal, Jordi Butrón, Carlo Cracco, Quique Dacosta, Wylie Dufresne, Christian Escribà, Ramon Freixa, Dani García, Yukio Hattori, Andoni Luis Aduriz, Josean Martínez Alija, Hideki Matsuhisa, Marcos Morán, Yoshihiro Narisawa, René Redzepi, Joan Roca, Ricardo Sanz, Pedro Subijana, Hans Valimaki y Marcus Wareing.

It has helped to create a frame of promotion of the bars’ gastronomic business. In addition, the contest has been consolidated as playful model with the bars as protagonists. Its current level is in the maximum level.

With more inscribed bars that never and with renewed spirits; this way it starts the edition XII of the Bilbao-Bizcaia Pintxo Competition, during six weeks will make sprout the most exquisite preparations in the bars of the inscribed places.

The registered bars of Bilbao have happened from 39 of the past edition to the 45 from this one, whereas of the rest of the territory a whole of 23 has signed, opposite to the 15 of 2008, ” what demonstrates the vivacity and the desires of the bars of our territory “, they indicated from the organization. In addition, the event will rely on more than a set of thirty local collaborators that, though they do not present elaborations to contest, they will support it.

For almost six weeks, they will present more than 150 preparations of bar, ” gastronomic miniatures to tasting standing up with the fingers and in two bites”, that will surrender to the judgment of the juror. As every year, this one, anonymous, will value the places, the bars and the elaboration of it.

Among the awards there will be two innovations: a specific prize for the best pintxo with bread and other one for the best terrace with degustation of specialities’ menu.

These are the different awards:

• Txapela of Gold:  Reward to the Pintxos Bilbao-Bizkaia’s Best Bar
• Txapelas of Silver: 2 áccesits
• Other 6 Txapelas:
  • Best Bar
  • Best Products of the region
  • Best Especial-original Pintxo
  • Best Pintxo with Bread
  • Best Terrace
  • Best Omelete
• Txapela of gold Villa of Bilbao: Award to the Pintxos’s Best Bar, out of our territory.