Xantar

This international event supports the candidacy of the Ribeira Sacra for UNESCO World Heritage
It presents more than 150 experiences among which the showcookings that will be given by prestigious chefs from 6 countries stand out
15 restaurants offer 22 menus with prices between 15 and 35 euros

This week Expourense is hosting Xantar, the only accredited International Gastronomic Tourism Trade Fair on the Iberian Peninsula, which is celebrating its 21st edition in Ourense between 5 and 9 February and is focused on promoting the role played by gastronomy and wine in energizing the rural environment by helping to fix population and to meet the demographic challenge. In addition to this objective, the candidacy of the Ribeira Sacra for UNESCO World Heritage will also play an important role.

Expourense will become during this week the epicenter of the enogastronomic tourism gathering 298 exhibitors (figure slightly higher than the previous edition) and with 9 countries represented (Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica, Cape Verde, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Panama and Argentina) in which the traditional and close cross-border cooperation with Portugal will also coexist with the Ibero-American cooperation. With regard to activities, Xantar will bring together renowned chefs from 6 countries who will give live cooking workshops as part of the 15th International Meeting on Healthy and Sustainable Gastronomy, which will offer the public more than 150 experiences.

Among the novelties of this edition, it is worth mentioning the celebration of a certified Course of Initiation to Tasting given by the Instituto Galego do Viño and also the Conference on Demographic Challenge and Fixation of Population in the Rural Area, “Wine Talks”, which includes the conference of five Galician winemakers and the subsequent tasting of their wines. Another novelty will be the celebration, on Thursday 6 February, of the fourth and last semifinal of the VIII Cook of the Year Competition and the IV Waiter of the Year Competition. Eight chefs and five waiters from Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Euskadi, La Rioja and Navarra will compete to reach the national final to be held in April 2020, at the Alimentaria Fair in Barcelona.

150 food and wine experiences
The programme of activities for Xantar 2020 includes both expert conferences and live cooking exhibitions, as well as commented tastings and samplings included in the “XV International Meeting on Sustainable and Healthy Gastronomy”. It will offer the public more than 150 experiences, that is, an average of 4 activities for every hour the show is held.
The showcooking programme is completed with parallel activities such as the 7th Meeting of Gastronomic and Tourism Bloggers in which more than 25 bloggers from Galicia, Asturias, Castile and Leon and Portugal will participate, or the 16th International Meeting of Guilds that will bring together 40 entities.
In addition, the “IV Gastronomic Tourism Workshop” will also be held, with the participation of a dozen tour operators from Spain, Portugal and Norway who will attend presentations and B2B meetings with representatives of the different gastronomic destinations present at the show