Cheeses, wines, jams, bananas, fish, gofio, yoghurts… the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair is the biggest showcase for the products of our land. This Saturday, 30th April, the second day of this event is being held, which has already attracted thousands of visitors who have been able to see at first hand the excellence of the taste of what is ours.
This morning, the stage of the gastronomic exhibitions has witnessed the celebration of the final of the first Regional Artisan Pastry and Confectionery Competition Gran Canaria Me Gusta, which has crowned Rubén Medina, from the Zulay restaurant (La Palma), as the winner, thanks to his preparation called ‘La Isla Bonita’ (The Pretty Island). Rosalía González, from Cremería Qué Leche in Gran Canaria, and Cristina Hernández, from La Parada del Pan in Tenerife, were the other two finalists.
The youngest members of the family were also the stars of the show this Saturday morning with the start of the children’s workshops run by junior chef Pablo Nin Hernández, a participant in the eighth edition of Masterchef Junior. Pablo, accompanied by Alejandro de la Nuez, executive chef of the Santa Mónica Suites, has been guiding the children during the preparation of the recipes, composed of different products of the island.
This afternoon and tomorrow, Sunday, these workshops, organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Gran Canaria, will continue to take place, with the aim of showing children the importance of supporting local produce from the island.
Learning and getting to know in order to value and love the produce of our land and everything rural and fishing as a vital space for development. These are the fundamental objectives of the Product Classroom; the Knowledge Classroom; Gran Canarian Meat; El Secreto, rural value space; and Much more than fishing where, since yesterday, visitors to the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair have been able to enjoy product tastings, educational talks and exhibitions with a common protagonist: the biodiversity of Gran Canaria.

A route with a taste of Gran Canaria

The three national chefs invited to this ninth edition of the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair, Ricard Camarena, Carlos Maldonado and Teresa Gutiérrez, took part this Saturday morning in a tour of Gran Canaria to learn about some of the best cheeses and wines produced on the island from their producers.

The tour began in the midlands of northwest Gran Canaria, specifically at the La Caldera Cheese Factory, which has the Protected Designation of Origin seal of Queso Flor de Guía, Queso de Media Flor de Guía and Queso de Guía. In addition to Queso Flor de Guía and Media Flor, produced by Tania Rivero and Francisco Javier González with raw milk from Canarian sheep, the renowned chefs were able to taste Queso Flor de Guía and Queso Media Flor, Quesos La Gloria’s raw goat cheese (awarded ‘Best Cheese of the Canary Islands 2021’) and cheese made with raw milk from Canarian breed cows, from Quesería Los Castañeros.

The chefs and gastronomic journalists were guided by the aroma of wine to the Bodega San Juan, a family winery with more than 100 years of history, managed by Cristina Millán with the aim of maintaining the tradition started by her great-great-grandfather in 1912.
The semi-sweet white wine Eidan, produced by Bodega Ventura with Muscat of Alexandria, volcanic malvasia and listan blanco grapes; the red wine Desentidos 100 % tintilla from Vinos Viña La Vica, made with the 100 % tintilla variety; and the organic red wine of volcanic character Mocanal vintage 2020, from Bodega San Juan, were the protagonists of the tasting enjoyed by the chefs before their return to the Fair.

In this way, the guest chefs were able to learn first-hand about the importance and values of Gran Canaria’s local produce, as well as the artisanal processes that the island’s farmers and producers have inherited from their families and which they are so keen to maintain.

Acknowledgement How nice! Gran Canaria Me Gusta

From 11.00 a.m. tomorrow, 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 base 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.
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.