Dreams, the Madrid Fusion congress on the future of food, comes to Toledo

This conference, organized by Vocento Gastronomía and the Regional Ministry of Economy, Business and Employment of Castilla-La Mancha, and entitled "The Future of Food and Gastronomic Territories," will address product knowledge as a tool for creativity and the future of gastronomic learning, the limits of R&D with local products in haute cuisine, and the alliance between food and human health. It will also cover energy efficiency in the world of gastronomy, how artificial intelligence is already assisting in the marketing of Spanish cheeses, and hyper-specialization in green gastronomic destinations. Finally, it will explore how to modernize and elevate the profession of farmer and what the future holds for wine and food tourism.

As with Madrid Fusión, the conceptual definition and program have been designed jointly between the people in charge of Madrid Fusión and the team of the Alícia Foundation, an entity dedicated to technological innovation in cooking, the improvement of eating habits and the appreciation of agri-food heritage and a world reference in studies that link gastronomy and health.

Speakers such as chefs Xosé Cannas (Pepe Vieira Restaurant**, Pontevedra), Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo (Oba*, Casas Ibáñez, Albacete), Ignacio Echapresto (Venta Monclavillo**, Daroca de Rioja, La Rioja); Iván Cerdeño (El Cigarral**, Toledo), David Pérez (Ronquillo, Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria), and the director of Food Idea Lab, David Chamorro, will share the stage with professionals from other disciplines, such as the director of the Interprofessional Dairy Organization (InLac), Nuria María Arribas; the vice president of the European Innovation Agency, Juan Francisco Delgado; and the business director of John Deere Ibérica, Eduardo Martínez de Ubago. Also participating is Jorge Blanco, head of R&D at XFarm, an app for managing agricultural operations; Samuel López, CEO of Plantae, the artificial intelligence that optimizes irrigation systems, and Albert Duaigües, CEO of RawData, the 360º farmer management platform, are also among the speakers. To discuss product knowledge as a tool for creativity and the future of culinary learning, Dreams will feature Gabriel Bartra, Sapiens Pedagogical Coordinator at the Madrid Culinary Center (MACC) and Content Director at Bullipedia (elBullifoundation); as well as Pablo Márquez, Director of Gastronomy at MACC. Dr. Lucía Alonso Díez, a registered dietitian nutritionist at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, ​​will also be present. The general director of the Alícia Foundation, Toni Massanés, Laura Caurín, External Communications Manager of Abadía Retuerta-Le Domaine (Sardón de Duero, Valladolid), Sandra Luque, Oenologist and technical director of Bodega Pago del Vicario (Porzuna, Ciudad Real) and Nolo Giráldez, manager of the Casal de Armán winery will also be at the Toledo event along with the Chilean chef Francisco Cárdenas, head chef of the Kadeau Restaurant** (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Alberto Segade, head waiter and head sommelier of this Danish restaurant and chosen just a week ago as best sommelier in Denmark.

During the day, a workshop will also be held on taste and how to push the boundaries of flavor to analyze what we know about the mechanism of taste, why we like what we like, and the keys to producing appealing foods in the foodtech world.

This Dreams Culinary Roots session in Toledo is open to the public until the venue reaches capacity. As in Madrid Fusion, the stage will be a square with tiered seating, and this time, a circular screen will also be featured. On a planet where natural resources are overexploited, innovation in the food sector is increasingly necessary. Consumers are now more conscious and demanding. This is why they demand healthier food, as they are also increasingly concerned about health and food safety. The advancements and disruptions brought about by technology are opening new paths and horizons for writing the next chapter in gastronomy. What is happening? Where are we going? How do we get there? What is the role of gastronomy in all of this? Dreams seeks to answer all these questions. It is a space that was born with the aim of building through dialogue, since the best way to predict the future is to create it.