Organised by the Municipal Markets Institute, the fair turned Plaça de la Catedral and Plaça de Santa Caterina into one big marketplace with stalls full of produce supplied by the vendors at Barcelona’s municipal markets and by Catalan producers. There were also demonstrations put on by restaurateurs and samplings. The event was a resounding success and close to 180,000 people had occasion to enjoy the gastronomy of our own Mediterranean culture.

Experimenting with fruit and vegetables
Mercabarna and the AGEM put the fair to good use by staging entertaining activities for the children, devised to promote the ‘5 a day’ philosophy to the children and their families. The main highlight was a tasting workshop, where the youngsters were first blindfolded and then had to try to identify different fruit and vegetables. Later, they made colourful and varied fruit brochettes.

The aim was for the children to sample and experiment with fruits and vegetables and discover just how fun, healthy and delicious they are to eat. The youngsters also took part in the activities offered by a drawing workshop, where they painted the characters featured in the ‘5 a day’ campaign.

Fresh produce tips
Mercabarna also played an active role in the activities of the fair’s gastronomy class. The Training Area set up two practical – and well-attended – workshops that demonstrated how to purchase and cut both fish and meat in line with the dish you set out to cook.