A ham of about eight kilos, acorn-fed and with at least 50% Iberian breed, identified with a red seal. It is not enough to just place the piece on the table: there must be a specialized cutter serving it live throughout the event, with a professional ham holder, tableware, bread and picos, and a presentation appropriate to the occasion. It is one of the gastronomic stations that Móstoles Desarrollo, the public company dedicated to the economic promotion of the municipality, wants to be able to contract for its events over the next four years. Alongside the ham, there will also be corners of sushi, Iberian products, cheeses, and sweets within a framework agreement whose maximum value amounts to 880,000 euros.
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However, the figure does not equate to 880,000 euros of committed expenditure. Municipal sources emphasize that it is “a framework agreement that sets a maximum amount, not a spending commitment” and assure that this mechanism has already been used in previous years “with similar maximum amounts.” According to data provided by the City Council, Móstoles Desarrollo spent around 20,000 euros on catering in 2024 and another 20,000 in 2025. The City Council defends that the system serves precisely to “contain and control spending,” because it establishes maximum unit prices and “only pays for what is actually contracted and provided.” The tender documents themselves set the base budget at zero euros and the estimated maximum value at 880,000 for the four years.
Among those maximum prices is that of the first ham piece with cutter, set at 800 euros excluding VAT. If more are needed for the same event, each additional piece may cost up to 600 euros. The service includes live cutting, plating, and attending to guests, as well as the setup and dismantling of the station and the necessary decorative elements to guarantee, as the document states, a “careful, orderly, and professional” image.
The catalog continues with a sushi station for a maximum of 17 euros per person. The pieces must be prepared at the event itself by specialized personnel — a sushiman, the specifications state — and offer a minimum of four different preparations or varieties and at least three types. Examples include uramaki, nigiri, and temaki. The awarded company will also have to provide soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger, and the presentation may include lighting, identifying elements of the preparations, and “Japanese-inspired” decoration.
The Iberian products and cheeses will have a maximum price of 13 euros per diner. In the first case, at least loin, salchichón, and Iberian chorizo must be served mandatorily. The cheese board must offer at least six varieties, including a cured, a semi-cured, and a soft or creamy cheese. The cheapest option will be the sweet corner, with a maximum of eight euros per person and a minimum of six preparations. At least four must be individual pastry or bakery products. Móstoles Desarrollo offers some examples: sponge cakes, tarts, donuts, macarons, palmiers, brownies, or waffles, which may be accompanied by candies, gummies, and other sweets.
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All this is part of the fourth lot of the framework agreement that Móstoles Desarrollo has put out to tender to cover the catering of its events. The municipal company argues in the documents that it needs this system to cover the “high number of promotional, training, or institutional activities and events” it organizes for the citizens, the business fabric, and social agents of Móstoles. It can be used in institutional events, conferences, business meetings, training activities, and economic promotion events.
Opposition Criticism
The number of attendees, the location, the type of food, and the necessary staff will be specified in each order. The agreement is divided into four lots. In addition to the gastronomic stations, it includes breakfasts and brunch, appetizers and cocktails, and seated lunches and dinners, with basic and premium options. The largest amount corresponds to appetizers and cocktails, with a maximum of 352,000 euros over the four years; followed by lunches and dinners, with 220,000; breakfasts and brunch, with 176,000; and gastronomic stations, with 132,000. The same company can apply for all four lots and also be awarded all of them.
The tender has sparked criticism from the PSOE of Móstoles. Its secretary general, Alejandro Martín, considers that a contract of this nature does not respond to the main purpose of the public company. “It has no impact on commerce, hospitality, or the economic development of the city,” he argues. For Martín, the operation fits into a municipal policy that, in his view, is too focused on organizing “events and parties.” The criticisms come just two months after the opposition rejected the accounts of Móstoles Desarrollo corresponding to 2025, which recorded losses exceeding 224,000 euros, according to the socialist politician. Martín questions whether the company is adequately fulfilling its purpose and argues that it has moved away from promoting local commerce. “It seems more like an event promotion company for the mayor than really a company for the development, promotion, and strengthening of local commerce,” he states.
Interested companies can submit their offers until September 14. The price will account for 40% of the score, while another 30% will depend on objective criteria and the remaining 30% on criteria subject to judgment. In the specific case of the gastronomic stations, companies can earn additional points for increasing their variety, improving their gastronomic quality, or introducing improvements in the operation and flexibility of the service. Over the following four years, the services that Móstoles Desarrollo actually commissions will determine how much of the 880,000 euro ceiling set in the framework agreement is ultimately spent.
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