Santa Cruz de Tenerife will be the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy in 2027. It is the first Canary Island city to obtain the title since it was created in 2012. The jury made the decision on Tuesday, September 8, and approved it unanimously, according to the award organization. The capital of Tenerife takes over from Jerez de la Frontera, the capital in 2026. Before that, it was Alicante (2025) and Oviedo (2024).
Three cities competed for the 2027 call. The other two were discarded because their proposal “did not meet the requirements,” according to the organization, which has not provided their names.
The program presented by the City Council includes 137 gastronomic activities and events spread over the twelve months of 2027. The council has not yet detailed the calendar or the budget. The jury valued the proposal for its “variety, innovation, and creativity.”
The candidacy was presented under the slogan Santa Cruz de Tenerife, crossroads of flavors. The dossier, titled Recipes to cook the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2027, adopts the structure of a cookbook: each strategic section is translated into a culinary key and the activities are ordered by quarters, “as if they were the steps of a menu,” according to the City Council.
The mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez (Canarian Coalition), defended the candidacy before the jury in a video. “We have been promoting gastronomy for years because it connects identity, territory, product, and talent. Gastronomy is identity,” he said. The mayor adds that the title will allow the city to consolidate itself as a gastronomic destination: “Santa Cruz is capital, port, market, Carnival, neighborhoods, and hospitality; an Atlantic city that has made the shared table a way to recognize itself and present itself to the world.”
The Councilor for Tourism and CEO of the Development Society, Carmen Dolores Pérez (PP), responsible for the project, announced the creation of a technical office to coordinate planning, files, and relations with suppliers. “The planned activities are a declaration of intent, designed to be enjoyed step by step, demonstrating that Chicharrera gastronomy is, above all, a common project cooked as a team,” she states. Pérez attributes the designation to an “economic and tourist boost” for the municipality, although she has not provided estimates.
The award rules require the chosen city to organize festivals, workshops, contests, forums, and tapas routes throughout the year. The title is granted by Hostelería de España and the Spanish Federation of Tourism Journalists and Writers (FEPET).
Read more Brussels will give 114.7 million euros to Spain to strengthen border surveillance in Ceuta
