On 21, 22, 23 and 24 January, the 6th International Gastronomy Summit will bring together 60 chefs

Palacio Municipal de Congresos (Municipal Convention Centre), Campo de las Naciones
THE MOST INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED CULINARY EVENT WELCOMES A REVOLUTIONARY GENERATION OF NORDIC CHEFS UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE SPANISH INSTITUTE FOR FOREIGN TRADE (ICEX), THE SPANISH TOURISM OFFICE (TURESPAÑA) AND THE MUNICIPAL PROMOTION ENTITY OF MADRID, 100 FOREIGN JOURNALISTS WILL ATTEND THE SUMMIT

-Practical demonstrations by the great international chefs

-200 Spanish and 150 foreign journalists

-650 delegates

-20 sponsors and 50 collaborating businesses

-100 exhibitors

-Tastings, awards, contests and conferences

The broad culinary universe will reach its maximum representation at madridfusion 08: an exclusive setting which will bring together the most representative professionals in the industry. For the sixth consecutive year, the staging of the show will be surprising.
For four days, madridfusion will once again be the major gastronomic event of the year, due to its cutting-edge content, the importance of its participants and its awareness of technological advances. The new internet era will reach the 6th International Gastronomy Summit, which will take place from 21 to 24 January at Madrid's Municipal Convention Centre.
Well established chefs together with a young generation, which stands apart with its latest contributions, will come together at this forum, where they will offer conferences, debates, contests, a mini gourmet fair and meals hosted by the Valladolid City Council, the Regional Government of Navarre and the Regional Government of Extremadura.
One of the main innovations at madridfusion 08 will come from Scandinavia: the geographic guest of honour. Professionals from Denmark and Sweden with concerns about biodiversity, the use of local raw materials and respect for small ecological producers, including Rene Redzepi, Bo Bech, Ramus Kofoed, Mathias Dhalgren and Magnus Ek, who are responsible for this latest Nordic revolution and its anti-globalization tidbits.
As in the last edition, the convention has two stages: one in the large auditorium and the second in the multipurpose room.
A quick glance at the intensive programme gives an indication as to the dimensions of the contents. Iñaki Aizpitarte, a Basque chef based in Paris, and Rafa Peña, representing the Catalonian bistronomic trend, will cover low-cost haute cuisine. Oriol Rovira, the 21st-century Payés chef, will discuss rural haute cuisine. This will be followed by unprecedented techniques in the use of saffron, by Alicante's Mª José San Román, while two geniuses of the trade, Paul Pairet and Carme Ruscadella, will dedicate their space to the travelling cuisines.
Sergio Azagra and Carlos Cidón speak about mushrooms and truffles; Frenchman Michel Troisgros and Magnus Ek will debate over acidified cuisine, while the world's most influential chef, Ferrán Adriá, will focus on the symbiosis of sweet and savoury. The Asturian Marcos Morán, a specialist in fish carcasses, and Fulvio Pierangelini, a taste philosopher, will also attend, while the new business models in the hotel industry will be presented by Mathias Dahlgren, synonymous with perfectionism, and the pastry chef Sébastien Gaudard.
The current trends in exoticism will be presented by Susur Lee, of Chinese origins, and Vinet Bathia, the highest expression of Hindi cuisine, and the popular Roca brothers will talk about creativity and moods. Quique Dacosta will explain his personal views on creativity from a different perspective.
Two restless souls, Andoni Luis Aduriz and Ángel León, will surprise with ecological fuels: olive pit coal. Meanwhile, Pedro Subijana will speak about flavour enhancers. Daniel Patterson, the American sensation of the year, with his essential oils; the Italian Davide Scabin, with the sensory pairings of foods, and the confectioners Keiko Nagae and Christophe Michalak, on desserts at restaurants.
Tapas at restaurants will take on a new dimension thanks to Benito Gómez and Ramón Freixa. Deeply rooted cuisine will be presented by Parisian Jean-Francoise Piége and the Italian Alfredo Russo, from Turin. Juan Mari Arzak will talk about sauces with soils and clays and the most original of the chefs from Madrid, David Muñoz, will cause a sensation with his unusual fusion cuisine. Nature will be the theme of the Scandinavians Bo Bech y Rasmus Kofoed, a theme that will be seconded by the Dane René Redzépi, the new international star.
In the multipurpose room, without coinciding with the demonstrations in the auditorium, there will be talks on Magical sauces using olive oil: the latest in mojos and aliolis (Mª Carmen Vélez and Braulio Simancas); avant-garde cuisine with Parmigiano Reggiano (Sergi Arola, Quique Dacosta y Josean Martínez Alija) ; haute cuisine with tinned fish (Darío Barrio, Juan Pablo Felipe, Andrés Madrigal y Marcelo Tejedor); radical minimalism: refining simplicity (Sergi Fernández y Juan José López); a journey in 3Dwith a glass of Ribera del Duero (Agustí Peris y Manel Plá); the grill and its magic (Miguel Palomo, Raúl Alexandre and Francis Paniego) and fantastic cake-making (Christian Escribá y Jacob Torreblanca).
On the other hand, madridfusion 08 will pay Tribute to TV chefs and the chefs of Scandinavia. Together with the now traditional Designer Sandwiches, Designer Tapas and Designer Cocktails contests, the 1st International "Valrhona" Chefs' Circle Desserts for Restaurants Contest and the "2nd Gusti Negrini Creative Cuisine Contest" will also be held.
The Best Revelation Chef, Best Dining Room Service, Internationalization, and Design and Technical Innovation awards will be given out. The Arts Prize -"Golden Apron"- and the Tourism Excellence prize will also be awarded. In the area of wines: the Award to the Best Spanish Wine for Under €30, and the 2nd National "Custodio López-Zamarra Trophy" Sommeliers Championship.
There will be striking conferences, such as "Nouvelle cuisine genome in the West", given by the journalist Pau Arenós, and many others that will cover the internet and its technological applications: "Blogs and the new gastronomic critic's era"; "Table reservations.com"; "Present and future of online wine sales management"; restaurant web pages...
Due to the interest in madridfusion from beyond our borders, the Spanish Institute For Foreign Trade (ICEX), Turespaña and the "Madrid Convention Bureau" support the summit with the presence of 100 foreign journalists specialising in wines and in gastronomy, from thirty different countries.

Welcome to madridfusion 2008