The Spanish Tourism Office celebrated World Tapas Day in style. The travel trade and media were treated to a master class of Jamón Ibérico with Mario Hiraldo, followed by a tapas dinner with selected Rioja wines.
Turespaña organised celebrations in 17 different countries where Spanish Tourism Offices are located to celebrate World Tapas Day. With no fewer than 127 promotional activities programmed, these included tapas tasting, cookery demonstrations and seminars to the public and media.
In Ireland the Spanish Tourism Office has teamed up with Taste City Fusion to offer the ‘taste of tapas’. This allows you to get one free tapa plus a glass of Spanish wine when you buy a tapa from one of the participating restaurants.
Gonzalo Ceballos, STO Director, commented on how tapas brought good friends together and were not solely about the food.
The Spanish Ambassador, Jose Maria Rodriguez Coso, remarked on how tapas represented the modern Spain and has been exported all over the world and how it is “an artistic way of mixing food with creativity”.
The Minister of State – High Commissioner for the Espaná board, Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros, explained the origin of tapas, as well as thanking the one million Irish visitors who come to Spain each year.
After a brief video, the guests were given a terrific insight into the variations of Spanish ham by Mario Hiraldo.
We tasted different varieties of Spanish ham and learned to appreciate the curing process, some of which can take up to four years. This was, of course, followed by some excellent tapas and plenty of Rioja wine. Overall a great night and a great celebration of the ‘taste of Spain’.
