Just four years ago, when the pandemic was beginning to subside, the British chef of Nigerian origin Adejoké Bakaré offered her particular reinterpretation of traditional West African recipes in an ephemeral restaurant (pop-up) from London’s Brixton Village market. Today, she is the chef of her own restaurant, Chishuru, in the exclusive Fitzrovia neighborhood. Food critic Charlotte Ivers considers the place one of the best in London and Bakaré has just obtained a Michelin star, the first for a black woman resident in the United Kingdom and the second in the entire world. This new (and self-taught) international star of the kitchen is going to be one of the main guests at the next edition of the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, which will be held in pavilion 8 of the Montjuïc venue at Fira de Barcelona between November 4 and 6 .
Bakaré will cook live, and the first swords of haute cuisine such as the South Koreans living in Los Angeles Kwang Hu and Mina Park, the Turkish Osman Sezener, the Ghanaian Selassie Atadika or the promoter will also take the stage or participate in the GFB workshops and tastings from the Andrés Torres solidarity kitchen, from the Casa Nova restaurant in Sant Martí Sarroca. In total, more than 130 speakers (chefs, pastry chefs, sommeliers, experts in gastronomy and restoration) which total 42 Michelin stars. The presence of exhibitors will also be very large: up to 350 companies, thus confirming the success of attendance registered in 2023. Most of the companies present last year repeat their experience and around 50 new ones have joined. Among the firms that have confirmed that they will be at Fira Barcelona, DAMM, BonÀrea, Grupo Borràs, Makro and Vinyals Gourmet stand out.
Pep Palau, co-director of the event, explains that the motto adopted this year by Gastronomic Forum BarcelonaLet’s re-think restoration, will be a great thematic axis that will permeate debates, presentations and dialogues: “We will see how there are different ways in the sector to address current hot topics such as conciliation, new schedules or the application to our field of new technologies.” Ultimately, it is about offering a meeting point for the most dynamic agents in the hospitality, gastronomy and specialized trade business, those who pursue profitability and excellence without losing sight of social responsibility and sustainability. or solidarity commitments.
