One more time, Galicia Fórum Gastronómico left me with a good taste in my mouth, so I’m here to tell you a little bit more about it.

Each year I attend to this event, I try to experience all the different activities and workshops to immerse myself in the full Forum experience. This year I got a bit too much on my plate and now it’s passed, I’m glad I did.

My favourite part of this event are the workshops. They feel like the calm after the tempest. Chefs have one hour to explain their story and cook a some dishes that you can try. I find them the most attractive part. You can book them in advance for a small fee or queue in line if there are spots left. I queued every time because I didn’t know my exact plans until last minute. All that said, I got into all of those I wanted to attend.

In these workshops I had the chance to try delicious chocolate by Lluc Crusellas. His pistacchio bombón was incredibly rich and deliciously salty, and he offered another dessert combining many diferent textures and flavours. None of them were too sweet and had deep flavour without being too intense. I loved them.

I also enjoyed sea flavours from Caco Agrasar, the head chef that has two different restaurants in Galicia. One of them was the winner of the prize to the best Empanada this year. I was fortunate enough to try the award winning empanada in the workshop. Lucky me.

One of my favourite workshops was a very innovative one. As soon as I read in the leaflet “Cooking with thermal water” I knew I wanted to go.

I felt very impressed when I saw thermal water can help preserving the colour of some vegetables, like kale, and the fact that everything changes depending on its composition. It adds a different dimension to cooking and I find it fascinating. The chef, Miguel González, and the scientists behind this workshop were so enthusiastic that it felt contagious. I fell in love with the sweet and savoury squid tartar. It was very different to anything I’ve ever tried. And I’ve tried a lot of different food. I enjoyed the novelty and excitement of this workshop.

Another couple of workshops I attended, I tried food from two restaurants in Coruña. Moncho Méndez from Millo Orzán joined forces with the representative from Os Biosbardos, a Cultural Association I’ve been following closely because they are really nailing the sustainability and organic game. They made a joint workshop in which the vegetables were the focus. “Whatever is in season”, that was the keyphrase. I tried a delicious cabbage and leeks with a mexican flavour that I really really enjoyed.

The other restaurant was Terreo. I’ve never been there, but I’m sure I’ll be visiting soon after this event. Nice dishes, comfort food in an original way. I fell in love with the turnip greens with squid ink. Never tried such a combo, I loved it.

To finish my experience, I went to tastings and other specific talks. This year I went to a Galician cheese and honey tasting and to a talk about non-alcoholic cocktails. I was extremely grateful for this last one. The cocktail maker in Bordello, Coruña, offered his view (which pretty much is the same that I have) about non-alcoholic cocktails being an excuse to get creative and how it’s something that needs a little bit more attention in most cases. I’ve actually never ordered alcoholic cocktails, they are usually too sweet for me and even when I drank alcohol…I’d much rather drink a wine or a beer. But there’s something about cocktais that are fun, so whenever I visited Barcelona or Paris, I remember ordering non-alcoholic mojitos in some places. You can’t really go wrong with non-alcoholic mojito…the lime, brown sugar and mint make all the good work. But having tried the ones from Bordello, gives me hope. I can go there and order something different without it being just a mix of juices. So grateful for that.

I enjoyed talking to people working in new brands I didn’t know about, and others from restaurants and places I knew. I enjoyed a lot this year’s edition and I’m happy I could make it. I’m writing this while I’m in London, trying other foods and getting inspiration again. I enjoy every tiny bit of life, and that can only become better if you add a little bit of good food every now and then.

I hope you visit a Gastronomic Event at least once in your life, to feel inspired and get creative. If you do, let me know what you think. But for now…have fun and keep fooding!