Malaga town competes with city of Jerez to be crowned Spain's Gastronomic Capital in 2026
Well-known for its molletes, olive oil, porra and mantecados, it is bidding for the accolade for the third time, after previously losing out to Oviedo and Alicante
The finalists competing to become the gastronomic capital of Spain in 2026 are the town of Antequera in the north of Malaga province and the Andalusian city of Jerez de la Frontera, with the winner to be announced next Friday 17 October. Antequera is trying for the third time, having previously failed to beat Oviedo and Alicante in other years, so there is a lot of expectation that this will be a 'third time lucky' situation.
The mayor of Antequera, Manuel Barón, and deputy mayor in charge of tourism, Ana Cebrián, this week presented the dossier that was submitted to the technical committee for the Gastronomic Capital of Spain. This is the judging panel that will decide which of the two will be chosen for next year.
Whether or not Antequera succeeds, "it will be the last time" that Antequera bids for this accolade, since being "perpetually a contender is detrimental [to the town]". So they hope and trust that the jury will endorse the town's important gastronomic and tourism proposal this time around. For deputy mayor Cebrián, she presented the various points within the bid documentation, from the endorsements and supporting statement from Junta president Juanma Moreno to those from president of Malaga's provincial authority Francisco Salado.
Likewise, companies and other organisations are showing their support for a bid that would allow Antequera to hold a broad programme of activities throughout 2026, with food and drink as the main attraction. These events would range from healthy cooking sessions featuring local produce, activities related to Lent and Easter, fairs such as 'Antequera, Qué Bien me Sabe' (Antequera tastes sooo good) or the Real Feria de Agosto with its national porra soup competition every August, to national events such as 'A Todo Queso' (all things cheese-related) or the gastro-sports festival 'Sport Gourmet'.
In addition, a media and tourism promotion plan has been drawn up to push Antequera's image as a top-level foodie destination, supported by its many designations of origin products, the quality of its products in general and its status as a World Heritage site, the only one among the competition.
The bid also "presents a proposal that is 100% Antequera, based on local products and dishes such as porra [a thick, chilled soup], mollete [a soft, flattish, breakfast bread roll], mantecados [a biscuit made from lard] and chivo a la pastoril [braised goat], without resorting to generic Andalusian or provincial recipes, but rather highlighting what makes us unique", said Cebrián. The verdict will be announced in all but a few days.
