• This space aims to highlight the value of local produce as a necessary element to stimulate the island’s economy, create employment and maintain the landscape.
• The programme of activities includes gastronomic exhibitions; children’s workshops; tastings, samplings and product presentations; as well as a large exhibition area for direct sales.

Everything is ready for next weekend, from Friday 29 April to Sunday 1 May, for the ninth edition of the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair to showcase the excellence of local produce and the gastronomy of Gran Canaria.
Promoted and financed by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and organised by Infecar, this fair will once again be the benchmark event in Gran Canaria for both the primary and gastronomic sectors.

On Thursday, 21 April, a press conference was held to present the event, with the participation of the President of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales; the Councillor for the Primary Sector and Food Sovereignty, Miguel Hidalgo; the Councillor for Industry and Trade, Minerva Alonso; the technical coordinator of Economic Development, Energy Sovereignty, Climate and Knowledge, Raúl García; the general manager of Infecar, Natalia Santana; as well as the two local chefs Borja Marrero, from the restaurant Muxgo, and Jenisse Ferrari, from the restaurant Qué Leche! .

“The Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair is based on four fundamental pillars: local producers, the product, the territory and gastronomy. From the Cabildo de Gran Canaria we want to vindicate and strengthen our primary sector, in direct relation with a 100% sustainable and respectful gastronomy by betting on products of proximity”, said Antonio Morales during the presentation of this event.

The president also emphasised that “by buying local products we are helping to maintain the landscape, seasonal consumption, boosting the local economy and job creation. On the other hand, we are also reducing our environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions. And of course, less expenditure on packaging and plastics. In short, your carbon footprint is much smaller. Undoubtedly, thinking globally means buying locally”.

The ninth edition of the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair will open its doors on Friday 29th April, with a total of 46 exhibitors and eight product associations who will have their wares on display for direct purchase by visitors.

Gastronomic exhibitions

This event will once again bring together at Infecar renowned chefs from the national and local scene to highlight the value of the gastronomic sector in our country, with the raw material of our land as the protagonist.

The Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair will feature Ricard Camarena, (Ricard Camarena, two Michelin Stars, one Green Star for Sustainability and three Repsol Suns), Carlos Maldonado, (Raíces, one Michelin Star and one Sustainable Sun) and Teresa Gutiérrez (Azafrán, Recommended Michelin Guide) as far as national chefs are concerned; and Borja Marrero, Richard Díaz, Jenisse Ferrari, Carmelo Mújica, Rubén Parra, Lolo Román and Juan Manuel Calvo, for local chefs. In addition, this year the role of host chef will be given for the first time to Braulio Simancas (Tasca El Silbo Gomero).

The gastronomic exhibitions will be held on all three days of the fair. On Friday 29 April, local chefs will be at the controls of the cookers, while from 4 p.m. on Saturday 30 April the main event of this edition will take place with exhibitions by Borja Marrero, Carlos Maldonado, Teresa Gutiérrez and Ricard Camarena.

The Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair will also feature live demonstrations by SPAR Gran Canaria, Fagor Profesional and Alcampo, as well as the prize-giving ceremonies for the Regional Cooking Competition in the New Talents category, with the participation of Richard Díaz, chef of the Poemas by Hermanos Padrón restaurant; the Regional Artisan Pastry and Confectionery Competition Gran Canaria Me Gusta; the Regional Sommelier Competition Canarias; the Regional Cooking Competition in the Professional category, in which the chef Braulio Simancas will perform a showcooking in front of the public. And the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Popular Confectionery Competition.

Acknowledgement What a good thing! Gran Canaria Me Gusta

From 11.00 a.m. on Sunday 1st May, the award ceremony of the ¡Qué bueno! Gran Canaria Me Gusta for Excellence in Commitment to Local Produce, promoted by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, with the aim of highlighting those restaurants that, beyond their style of cuisine, have the produce of the island of Gran Canaria as the main basis of their proposal.

Previously, a specialised jury has already chosen twelve restaurants on the island that meet these parameters, which are the following: La Trastienda de Chago (Gáldar), La Tunera (Telde), Casa Romántica (Agaete), Nelson (Agüimes), Casa Enrique (Mogán), Biocrepería Risco Caído (Artenara) and El Padrino, Muxgo, El Equilibrista33, Cuernocabra, Tabaiba and El Bento Japonés, (in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria).

All of them will be present after receiving their well-deserved recognition and the jury will announce the verdict of the restaurant that will have the honour of being the first on the island of Gran Canaria to receive the award for excellence in commitment to local produce, in a project that looks set to continue in the years to come.

Children’s workshops

On this occasion, Pablo Nin Hernández, a participant in the eighth edition of Masterchef Junior, will be the guest junior chef at the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair. Pablo, accompanied by Alejandro de la Nuez, executive chef of the Santa Mónica Suites, will guide the children through the preparation of the recipes, made up of different products from the island.

The Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair aims with this activity, which is organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Gran Canaria, to show the importance of supporting the local produce of the island and, through a didactic, dynamic and interactive cooking workshop, to teach and train the senses of children through visual, olfactory and gustatory recognition of different typical products of the island, as well as their identification with the geographical area that produces them.

SPAR Gran Canaria, sponsor of the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair for the last seven editions, will also be holding three sessions of the Fruit Art Workshop on Friday 29 April.

Primary Sector Activities

The Product Classroom and the Knowledge Classroom, where visitors can taste and learn about the tastes and sensations of our land, will once again be two of the main attractions of this Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair. During the fair, participants will have the opportunity to discover aspects linked to the product, its production and preparation, highlighting its identity and emphasising its importance for the island.

Those interested in taking part in these sessions can register directly at the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair, until full capacity is reached. With a wide-ranging programme that includes tastings of yoghurt, potatoes, salt, cheese and cider, as well as workshops on honey, wool, beer, medicinal plants and sugar cane, among others, the aim is to raise awareness of the product and the rural world in order to value it as a vital space for development.

The Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair will also have the Carnes de Gran Canaria area, with an extensive programme of activities linked to the island’s livestock; Más Que Pesca, in collaboration with the Gran Canaria Coastal Action Group, with an area for the direct sale of fish from six fishermen’s guilds and cooperatives; and the Espacio el Sereto, Valor Rural, where different associations and groups will give talks and hold workshops related to the primary sector and its products.

In addition to all of the above, Primary Sector will also carry out the Gran Canaria Wine Route, a project that highlights the wine-growing landscape and the wine culture of Gran Canaria from a gastronomic tourism perspective and in which the experiences and products are approached as a journey through the landscapes of the wine culture of Gran Canaria enriched with wine tastings.

XVI Gran Canaria 2021 Official Honey Competition Awards Ceremony

On Friday 29 April, from 18.00 hours, the Department of Primary Sector and Food Sovereignty will hold the prize-giving ceremony for the 16th Gran Canaria 2021 Official Honey Competition. This competition will once again help to raise the profile of a minority sector of livestock farming, but one that is no less important for that reason.

Origins Professional Conference

The final climax to the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair will take place on Monday 2 May with the Origins Professional Conference, aimed at the gastronomy sector: chefs, restaurateurs, wait staff, sommeliers, the primary sector, etc. and organised by the Regional Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Participating in this conference will be the chefs Dabiz Muñoz (Diverxo, three Michelin Stars and three Repsol Suns); Aser Martín (Tabaiba, one Repsol Sun and Michelin Guide Recommendation); Carmelo Florido (El Equilibrista 33, one Repsol Sun and Bib Gourmand); Abraham Ortega (Tabaiba, one Repsol Sun and Michelin Guide Recommendation); José Luis Espino (Bevir, recommended by Guía Repsol); Juan Diego Sandoval (Coque, three Michelin Stars and three Repsol Suns); Juan Santiago (Hestia, recommended by Guía Repsol); Juanlu Fernández (Lú Cocina y Alma, one Michelin Star and two Repsol Suns); and Pepe Solla (Casa Solla, one Michelin Star and three Repsol Suns).

Orígenes will be held from 10.00 to 18.00 hours and registration to take part in this event can now be made at www.feriagrancanariamegusta.es.

Ticket sales

Visitors can already get their tickets to attend the ninth edition of the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair on the website www.feriagrancanariamegusta.es. Also, on this occasion, the fair will have a live broadcast of the contents of the programme so that those interested in following it and who are unable to attend the fair can do so virtually.

The cost of the entrance ticket will be 1.50 euros and the opening hours of the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair will be from 9.30 am to 8.00 pm on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th April; and from 9.30 am to 4.00 pm on Sunday 1st May.

The Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair is promoted and financed by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and organised by Infecar. The Fair also has SPAR Gran Canaria as sponsor, Cajasiete as official collaborator; the Chamber of Commerce of Gran Canaria, Fegastrocan, Fagor Profesional, as collaborators; and Alcampo as official product supplier.