The Horeca Hub

“Harmony of Flavors · China–Spain Pairing” is a gastronomic pairing experience that invites participants to discover new combinations of dishes and beverages through the dialogue between the culinary traditions of China and Spain. Within the framework of Alimentaria, the event proposes a sensory journey that explores balance, complementarity, and surprise, creating a space for encounter and enjoyment around the table.

Presentation of the traditional Ramadan recipe book that the FRINUTS brand has created together with the cooks Saloua Loqmane and Fátima Labyedh.

Culinary demonstration offered by the Catalan Government’s Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, together with PRODECA.

Join us for an exclusive tasting led by the Head of the Parmigiano Reggiano Academy. Discover the story behind this world-famous Italian cheese followed by a vertical tasting of three different aging stages. This unique sensory experience is designed for professionals eager to explore the versatility of Parmigiano Reggiano - from aperitif to dessert- and learn how its evolving flavors and textures can elevate a variety of culinary occasions .

A culinary journey where creativity and innovation meet on the plate. Through differentpreparations, the main alternative protein products from ZYRCULAR FOODS and itsAMARA brand will be presented, exploring textures, flavours and new gastronomicpossibilities for contemporary cuisine.

The leadership of both associations will welcome attendees and introduce the two-day program, highlighting its objectives and key themes.

Analysis of the current economic and regulatory context in Europe and its direct impact on the sector. The session focuses on the key challenges and opportunities arising from this environment and highlights the importance of addressing them collectively to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness.

Analysis of the evolution and outlook of prices and raw materials, highlighting the importance of understanding the economic and regulatory context, the challenges and opportunities for sector companies, and trade and non-trade barriers affecting development in Europe.

Analysis of the current state and outlook for branded foodservice in the U.S. and Europe, offering key insights on consumer trends, customer behavior, and growth opportunities in the sector.

Evolution and trends of quick service restaurant categories, comparing markets and contexts, and exploring how companies use consumer insights to guide strategic decisions and identify growth opportunities.

The full-service restaurant market adapts to changing customer behaviors, evolving experience expectations, and industry trends, identifying opportunities to innovate and enhance competitiveness.

Airports are enhancing their dining offerings to create more enjoyable and engaging experiences, making transit areas places where eating and drinking are part of the overall journey.

How this category is shaping the experience in branded restaurants. From morning coffee rituals to quick breaks and social moments, it shows how offerings are evolving to delight consumers, combine quality and convenience, and create memorable experiences across all moments of consumption.

A cuisine learned far from Ronda. Catalan culture did not reach Benito through a territory, but through a way of living and understanding cooking. Argentona, Can Raimi, the farmhouse. Kitchens where there is no artifice, where the product leads and time is respected. This way of understanding the craft is what both Bardal and Tragatá uphold today: an honest, direct cuisine, rooted, yet free from nostalgia.

A gastronomic exploration of the life journey of the three-Michelin-starred Torres Brothers in their hometown of Barcelona, seen through the lens of its architectural singularity. Culinary and architectural talent intersect to offer a snapshot of Barcelona’s potential as a city of excellence for cultural and artistic exchange.

The importance of the gastronomic identity created at Nolla, shaped through —and despite— the zero-waste model and our condition as immigrants, cooking with local products while interpreting them through our own gastronomic roots.

WHEN DATA, EXPERIENCE, AND PROFITABILITY MEET

The hotel experience is no longer improvised: it is designed using data, sound judgment, and strategic vision.

This Focus Session reveals how intelligence, distribution, automation, and customer experience come together to drive efficiency and profitability without losing soul.

You will leave with practical insights to make better decisions, optimise operations, and build coherent experiences in an increasingly demanding market.

INDUSTRY LEADER: Álvaro Carrillo de Albornoz

Sustainability has ceased to be just a narrative and has become an operational imperative in the hotel industry. Energy, water, waste, products, talent, and the guest experience converge in high-impact, highly complex establishments. This roundtable addresses sustainability from a comprehensive and realistic perspective: how to design sustainable models from the outset, how to transform existing operations, and how to balance efficiency, profitability, and responsibility. A key conversation to understand which decisions truly matter, how to avoid greenwashing, and how to turn sustainability into a solid, measurable competitive advantage for the hotel business.

The closing section summarizes the main conclusions on distribution, operational efficiency, and sustainability, integrating key lessons to help hotels make smarter decisions in a highly competitive environment.

The hotel sector is experiencing a technological and operational shift driven by AI, automation, and sustainability. This session provides context on these changes and their direct impact on costs and competitiveness.

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a new key player in hotel distribution, transforming the way customers search, compare, gather information, and book. Conversational chatbots, new recommendation dynamics, and shifts in the decision-making process are redefining the balance between the customer, OTAs, and hotels. This roundtable examines how this landscape is changing, the implications for each stakeholder, and how to adapt sales and distribution strategies so that technology becomes a win-win opportunity rather than a threat to profitability and customer relationships.

Hospitality is, by definition, a deeply human industry. Yet in a context of cost pressure, talent shortages, and rising guest expectations, automation and robotics are emerging as key levers of the new operating model. This roundtable explores how technology can free up time, reduce friction, and improve economic efficiency without dehumanizing the guest experience. On the contrary, when applied effectively, it allows teams to focus on what truly adds value, enhance service quality, improve working conditions, and build hotels that are more profitable, sustainable, and ready for the immediate future.

Digitalisation is no longer an operational tool: it is the nervous system of the F&B department. From procurement to recipe costing, from waste management to profitability by point of sale, this session explores how technology enables data-driven decision-making, reduces operational friction, and transforms control into a competitive advantage.

The executive summary integrates lessons from various operational models, identifying which factors drive competitiveness today and which strategic decisions a business should prioritize to remain profitable and relevant.

Debate with representatives from various European associations on their role in today’s market, exploring in greater depth the topics addressed in the previous panels and sessions within the current economic and regulatory context.

EXPERIENCE IS NO LONGER EATEN, IT IS FELT

Customers no longer remember what they ate, they remember how they felt.

In this Focus Session, you will discover how the space becomes a strategic tool: lighting, sound, tableware, rhythm, and atmosphere working together to influence perception, dwell time, and repeat visits.

Designing experience is no longer just aesthetics, it is a business decision.

INDUSTRY LEADER: Paqui Cánovas

An immersive workshop for restaurant professionals that explores how to design gastronomic experiences that connect with diners on a sensory, emotional, and cultural level.

Experience doesn’t start on the plate nor end in the glass. Temperature, sound, tableware, lighting, textures, and rhythm create invisible decisions that impact perceived value, comfort, and memory. A talk to understand how to design atmospheres that work for your business, foster loyalty without words, and turn spaces into memorable experiences.

We analyze a key and often undervalued element: the support. Tableware doesn’t just present food; it defines the concept, expresses identity, interacts with the gastronomic proposal, and shapes the perception of price and value. A conversation about how plates, textures, and materials build a story, differentiate the restaurant, and elevate the customer experience from the very first visual impact.

In summary, key learnings on experience design, comfort, and emotion are integrated, drawing clear conclusions on how atmosphere impacts perceived value, customer loyalty, and profitability.

The experience is undergoing a central shift: it is no longer a complement, but the differentiating value. This session focuses on experience as a strategic business tool.

A proposal designed to take basic preparations one step further and turn them into desserts with higher perceived value, without complications. Through versatile ideas that are quick to apply, it presents solutions using ready-to-use products that help diversify the offer, enhance visual appeal, and optimise time and resources, adapting to the real pace of day-to-day work.

Chef Pepe Rodríguez, Michelin-starred and MasterChef Spain judge, leads an exclusive showcooking featuring premium Finura de Ibérico cuts. Live, he will work with fresh Iberian pork pieces, showcasing their versatility and potential in professional kitchens. A demonstration of how an exceptional product, handled with precision and respect for its origin, becomes haute cuisine.

Operators’ perspective on airport food service: how they adapt their offerings to increasingly demanding travelers and to spaces in constant transformation.

From the mountains, through lowlands and lakes, all the way to the seaside- every region serves its own culinary strory..Quite literally.

Taking as our starting point the Sent Soví, the oldest culinary text written in Catalan and the seminal work of Catalan gastronomic literature, we will discuss the culinary modernity created in the 14th century that still exists in our haute cuisine today.

Contemporary Curing and Aging Techniques and Their Pairing with Sherry Wines An exploration of contemporary curing and aging techniques and their gastronomic dialogue with Sherry wines.