San Sebastián Gastronomika 2026 to celebrate 50 years of new Basque cuisine with global chefs and historic tributes this October

The 28^th edition of Gastronomika has been announced. The annual culinary congress will take place at the Kursaal Congress Centre in San Sebastián (in Euskadi, the Basque Country) from 5^th to 7^th October, with its programme centred on the 50^th anniversary of the New Basque Cuisine movement. Running under the slogan “The spark that lit the fire”, the summit will examine the 1976 movement that reshaped Basque gastronomy and influenced the wider trajectory of contemporary Spanish cooking.

Organisers have confirmed the attendance of several internationally recognised chefs, including Pierre Gagnaire and Michel Troisgros, alongside Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio, who cites New Basque Cuisine as an influence on his work. They will be joined by founding figures and early participants of the movement, among them Juan Mari Arzak, Pedro Subijana, Tatús Fombellida, Ramón Roteta, Karlos Arguiñano, Martín Berasategui and Hilario Arbelaitz.

The programme will also address the legacy of the culinary movement on later generations of chefs and include a section devoted to Luis Irizar, recognised as a key figure in understanding its origins. Attendees of the 1976 Gastronomy Roundtable held in Madrid will also be coming together again to remember the starting point of the transformation, among them José Luis López Canís, Rafael Ansón, Imelda Moreno and Pedro Subijana.

Several awards will be presented, including the Congress Tribute Award for Martín Berasategui, who is marking 50 years as a chef. His restaurant in Lasarte-Oria retains three Michelin stars, and his establishments collectively hold 12 Michelin stars across multiple countries.

The Golden Gueridón will be awarded to Luis Gutiérrez, head of The Wine Advocate in Spain, in recognition of his work assessing Spanish wines since 2013, a period during which highly rated wines have included a wider range of regions and producers, particularly younger winemakers and historic Rioja houses.

The Pau Albornà i Torras Journalism Award will go to Russian-American journalist Anya von Bremzen, author of The New Spanish Table, a ten-year project on Spanish gastronomy. Von Bremzen has written for The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, Food & Wine and Travel + Leisure, and has received three James Beard Awards.

Tradition and the sea will again feature prominently at Gastronomika. The 2026 programme includes lectures and activities centred on cod, examining its role in Basque history from the 16^th-century Newfoundland fisheries to Pasaia’s period as one of the world’s largest cod ports. Sessions will cover nearly 60 species of the fish, traditional dishes from Norway, Iceland, Portugal, Italy, Brazil, Cape Verde and Nigeria, the role of women in the onshore cod industry, and the current state of the sector. As part of these activities, a replica of the historic vessel San Juan will arrive at the port of Donosti reconstructed as a cod-laden ship returning from Newfoundland.

The previous Forum of Taverns and Tavern Keepers will be restructured and renamed Taverns and Grills, adopting a more experiential format that includes tastings and educational activities. The Arregi cousins, of the Elkano and Kaia-Kaipe restaurants, will be appearing together for the first time, demonstrating their grilled turbot technique on stage. On Sunday, a tribute to baby squid (txipirón) will feature at least eight dishes prepared by restaurants associated with the ingredient.

The congress will continue to host a trade fair area for companies wishing to present products. Registration and exhibitor enquiries are being managed through the official Gastronomika website and press office.

Food Desk

Gastronomika 2026 takes place from 5^th until 7^th October 2026 at Kursaal Congress Centre, Zurriola Hiribidea, 1, 20002 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain. For further information or to register to attend, visit their website here.