Cargando...With a promise to continue enhancing Cuba’s gastronomic performance, the 15th edition of the Varadero Gourmet International Festival concluded its run from September 11 to 13 at its usual venue, the Plaza América Convention Center.
The quality exhibited during these sessions should always be the standard, not a one-off, so that the food experience gains greater recognition among those who choose the largest island of the Antilles for their vacation.
Researcher Milton Francisco González Zayas affirms that the event “continues to unite efforts and share knowledge,” aiming to create increasingly competitive and contemporary offerings in both state-run and private restaurants within the tourism sector.
He especially praised the culinary competitions, where 10 chefs—representing companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, self-employed workers, local development projects, and other actors—shined as winners of previous contests.
González Zayas described the challenge: creating and presenting a three-course menu (starter, main dish, and dessert) that fused Cuban cuisine with that of China, Spain, Mexico, Peru, France, Italy, or Japan.
Undoubtedly, this contributes to the “creation of memorable and meaningful gastronomic experiences in the offerings of Cuba’s leisure industry restaurants.”
On his Facebook profile, González announced the signing of contracts, supplements to existing agreements, and letters of intent—among other commercial actions—resulting from the exchange among participants.
The event’s program was enriched by conferences, academic workshops, bar and sommelier contests, gastronomic services, entertainment, product presentations, and artistic performances. Year after year, it draws entrepreneurs and professionals from the field, suppliers, exhibitors, and tourism operators.
Under the concept Flavors Without Borders: The Magic of Fusion Cuisine with a Cuban Soul, one of the most innovative proposals of this year’s Varadero Gourmet Festival was the First International Franchise Workshop, organized by the Extrahotel Company Palmares S.A. (EEP).
This marks a new chapter in entrepreneurship and the promotion of Cuban brands abroad, as a symbol of authenticity that complements Cuba’s destination marketing strategy, according to Lázaro Darién Casabella Hernández, general director of Palmares S.A.
El Floridita, Gato Tuerto, and La Bodeguita del Medio are the three Palmares brands currently franchised in Mexico and the Czech Republic.
For González Zayas, the Gourmet event—developed and managed by EEP, part of the OSDE CUBASOL—“is now part of Varadero’s identity, Cuba’s best and most internationally recognized sun-and-beach destination.”
