TUCK IN!

SPAIN'S restaurants held their heads high at the Best Restaurants in the World Awards 2023' staged at Valencia's Les Arts Opera House.

The ceremony honoured the pinnacle of gastronomic talent from 24 countries across five continents, with three out of the top four coming from Spain.

But it was Central in Peru's capital of Lima that was named the best restaurant in the world by 1,080 restaurant industry experts.

It edged out Barcelona’s Disfrutar, Madrid's Diverxo, and Axtondo's Asador Etxeberri, with Disfrutar's second-place guaranteeing them the best restaurant in Europe award. Further down the list, Quique Dacosta in Denia

Many cheers

BEER drinking reached a record-high in Spain in 2022 helped by hospitality recovering after the pandemic and larger number of tourists.

Figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food in conjunction with Cerveceros de España showed that 42.3 million hectolitres of beer were downed last year.

That's 6% more than in 2021 and beats the previous best of 41.3 million hectolitres in 2019.

In terms of production, Spain ousted Poland as the second biggest producer in the EU and is now behind Germany. Spain is ninth in the world standings, headed by China, the US and Brazil.

Almost all the beer consumed in Spain is made domestically: in total 41.1 million hectolitres were manufactured - 7.9% more than in 2021.

Exports rose by 13.4% last year, to 4.2 million hectolitres, with Portugal, the United Kingdom, China and Equatorial Guinea as the main markets.

Imports meanwhile fell by 3.63% in 2022 compared to the previous year, to

Tasty sustainables

A 'Sustainable' guide to restaurants in the Valencia region has seen its second edition published with an in-depth review of 85 eating places that put environmental sustainability and local produce at the top of their menu.

Guide editor, Maria Diago, said: “The project was born in 2020 to promote the development of the Valencian restaurant sector to achieve excellence as far as possible and that gastronomic richness should go hand in hand with sustainability.”

Experts from environmental, gastronomic, and marketing sectors have visited all the featured premises to provide independent assessments.

Spanish gourmet dominates at awards night

By Alex Trelinski

came 20th and Mugaritz in San Sebastian was 31st. Spanish restaurants had a strong showing further down the list, including the first appearance of Valencia’s Restaurante Ricard Camarina at 96 and the return of chef Albert Adria’s Engima in Barcelona at number 82.

Total perfection was achieved by chef Antoni Luis Arduiz who received the Icon Award for his lifetime of work at San Sebastian’s Mugaritz and Madrid’s Diverxo. Diverxo's in-house sommelier Miguel Angel Millan also took home the prize for Best Sommelier in the World.

In terms of companies, Mahou San Miguel was the biggest producer in 2022(12.81 million hectolitres), followed by Grupo Damm (11.34 million), Heineken

(10.07), Hijos de Rivera (the manufacturer of Estrella de Galicia, with 4.81 million hectolitres) and Compañía Cervecera de Canarias (1.07 million).

5.4 million hectolitres with Belgium as the main seller.

Consumption grew especially in the hospitality industry, 32% more, due to the boost of tourism.

But pre-pandemic hospitality sector levels have not yet been reached, though tourist numbers so far this year suggest that could well happen.

Some 70% of beer was consumed outside the home in 2019, but last year this figure remains below 60%.

Another trend was the rise by 11% last year of non-alcoholic beer sales, accounting for 13% of all beer consumption.