November 27 – 28, 2023

Barcelona, On-Site & Online

Simultaneous translation English – Spanish

ABOUT

Tomorrow Tastes Mediterranean is an industry leadership conference organized by the Torribera Mediterranean Center (TMC)

Tomorrow Tastes Mediterranean aims to help the restaurant, foodservice industry and affiliated sectors better understand and transfer the healthful, sustainable, and cultural principles of the Mediterranean Diet into menus and products suited to the demands of 21st century consumers.

The Mediterranean Diet is unquestionably one of the world’s healthiest, not to mention delicious, ways to eat. Its benefits to our physical and mental health are settled science, as leading researchers from all over the globe, from Harvard to the University of Barcelona, have been proving for decades.

TORRIBERA MEDITERRANEAN CENTER

The Torribera Mediterranean Center is a joint project of the University of Barcelona and The Culinary Institute of America, located at the UB’s Food and Nutrition Torribera Campus in Santa Coloma de Gramenet.

It is the first center in the world to take the Mediterranean Diet as starting point to connect leading-edge food and nutrition research with culinary, agricultural, and business innovation.

TMC is open to Mediterranean, European, and other international partners.

OVERVIEW

What if a centuries-old set of food cultures and dietary patterns that evolved out of the olive growing regions of the greater Mediterranean basin, the birthplace of Western civilization, were not simply delicious and engaging for contemporary appetites but held critical, even existential lessons for nourishing personal and planetary health for a secure, global tomorrow?

Inspired by this question, the Torribera Mediterranean Center announces its 4th Annual Tomorrow Tastes Mediterranean Conference to be held November 27, 2023 at the University of Barcelona’s main Historic Building in Barcelona.

The conference will once again take up a set of critical issues with global relevance–issues around health and nutrition, sustainability including the food-climate connection and regenerative agriculture, cultural diversity and identity, culinary insight and food innovation linked to behavioral change, emerging food business models, and more.

This year’s TTM Conference will revolve around five themes reflecting the interdisciplinary focus of our TMC work: As research on the optimal, traditional Mediterranean diet continues, we’ll hear an overview of results of the latest studies as well as what’s on the research agenda of leading nutrition scientists in areas including lifestyle, wellness, Mediterranean diet, cardiovascular and brain health, cancer, microbiota, prevention of inflammation and other chronic diseases, and emerging areas of translational research.

We’ll discover how innovators are crafting a larger role for irresistible vegetables and other plant-sourced dishes on their menus.

 

While cooking with olive oil is second nature to chefs and cooks in the Mediterranean, we’ll consider the art and science of applying low and high heat to olive oil and extra- virgin olive oil—looking at results from a nutritional, sensory and gastronomic point of view.

We’ll explore what the plant-forward Mediterranean diet means today in food cultures and restaurant menus of the traditional olive growing regions of North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.

Finally, we look at the challenge of educating the public about the optimal, traditional Mediterranean diet—specifically in mass media, caterings, restaurants, healthcare and school settings—and what can be done to deepen general understanding of this healthy, climate-smart dietary pattern beyond sound bites and social media posts.

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

(All schedule times are in Central European Time (CET)

08:30. Registration and Coffee.
Check-in at University of Barcelona Historic Building.

09:00. Welcome and Opening Remarks.

09:20. Session 1: The Mediterranean Diet—Latest Findings and Emerging Research to Support Personal and Planetary Health.

10:30. Session 2: Renewing Food Culture—Securing the Future of the Mediterranean Diet as an Intangible Cultural Heritage Recognized by UNESCO.

11:30. Break.

12:00. Session 3: Of Food, Health and Culture: A Sustainable Heritage of the Mediterranean Diet in North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean?

13:30. Session 4: Pulses of Change: “Beans Is How” We Can Fix the Future.

14:00. Lunch

15:00. Session 5: Powering a Global Trend around Irresistible Vegetables.

15:40. Session 6: Fermenting Change:  Chefs, Plant-Forward Restaurants and Sustainability.

16:20. Session 7:  Scaling Change for a Sustainable Future:  In our Communities and our Businesses.

17:00. Break.

17:30. Session 8: Mastering the Olive Oil Kitchen:  The Chemistry of Heat, A World of Application and Flavor.

18:15. Session 9:  From Culinary Interactions to  Nutritional Synergies:  Next-Generation Research on the Mediterranean Kitchen.

19:05. Closing Remarks.

19:15. Conference Adjournment/Wine Reception.

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

(All schedule times are in Central European Time (CET)

9:30. Registration and Coffee.
Check-in at Barcelona Culinary Hub

10:00. Welcome and Workshop Overview.

10:10. Workshop 1: Frontiers of the Olive Oil Kitchen—The Art and Chemistry of Heat and Flavor.
BCH Hot Kitchen.

11:00. Workshop 2: North Africa—The Vegetable Kitchen Revealed.
BCH Cold Kitchen.

11:50. Break

12:10. Workshop 3: Flavor Dynamics of Plant Protein Deliciousness—Of Beans, Nuts and the Mediterranean Kitchen.
BCH Classroom.

13:00. Workshop 4: Eastern Mediterranean—Strategies with Plant-Rich Menus, Aromatics and the Spice Kitchen.
BCH Hot Kitchen.

13:55. Closing Remarks.

14:00. Workshop Concludes.

Note:  All four workshops include tastings.

PRESENTERS

Adelaida Ferrer

Adelaida Ferrer

Co-Executive Director (for the University of Barcelona), Torribera Mediterranean Center; Barcelona, Spain.

Agustí Romero

Agustí Romero

Coordinator of the Olive Growing and Forestry Team and Fruit Growing, Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA); Tarragona, Spain.

Ali Honour

Ali Honour

Executive Chef, Food Consultant; Cork, Ireland.

Amèlia Sarroca

Amèlia Sarroca

Food Waste and Nutrition Technician, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, CREDA Center for Agro-food Economics and Development; Barcelona, Spain.

Anne E. McBride

Anne E. McBride

Vice President of Programs, James Beard Foundation; North Plainfield, USA.

Axel Bidon-Chanal-Badia

Axel Bidon-Chanal-Badia

Serra-Húnter Fellow department of Nutrition, Food Science and
Gastronomy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, University of Barcelona; Barcelona, Spain.

Conor Spacey

Conor Spacey

Chef, Disruptor & Author, Co-founder FoodSpace, Dublin, Ireland.

Greg Drescher

Greg Drescher

Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives, The Culinary Institute of America; Napa, USA.

Hafida Ben Rejeb Latta

Hafida Ben Rejeb Latta

Cookbook Author (The Tunisia Cookbook: Healthy Red Cuisine from Carthage to Kairouan); Valencia, Spain.

Ixta Belfrage

Ixta Belfrage

Cookbook Author (Mezcla and Ottolenghi Flavour) and Recipe Developer, IXTA LTD; London, UK.

Joan Guàrdia

Joan Guàrdia

Rector, University of Barcelona; Barcelona, Spain.

Joe Profaci

Joe Profaci

Executive Director, North American Olive Oil Association; New York, USA.

José Miguel Herrero Velasco

José Miguel Herrero Velasco

Acting General Director of Food Industry, Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; Madrid, Spain.

María Pérez Bosch

María Pérez Bosch

Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition, Food Science and Gastronomy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, INSA-UB, University of Barcelona; Barcelona, Spain.

Michael Sperling

Michael Sperling

Vice President of Academic Affairs, The Culinary Institute of America; Hyde Park, USA.

Michiel Bakker

Michiel Bakker

Vice President, Global Workplace Programs, Google; Los Gatos, USA.

Ramón Estruch

Ramón Estruch

Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine Department, Hospital Clinic; Professor of Medicine, University of Barcelona; Chair Scientific Advisory Council, Torribera Mediterranean Center; Barcelona, Spain.

Rosa Vañó

Rosa Vañó

Co-Owner and Commercial Director, Castillo de Canena; Madrid, Spain.

Santi Mas de Xaxàs Faus

Santi Mas de Xaxàs Faus

Founder, Gastronomic+34, Co-Executive Director (for The Culinary Institute of America), Torribera Mediterranean Center; Barcelona, Spain.

Sara Roversi

Sara Roversi

President, Future Food Institute; Bologna, Italy.

Tara Stevens

Tara Stevens

Journalist & Cooking School Owner, The Courtyard Kitchen; Fez, Morocco & Barcelona, Spain.

Xenophon Kappas

Xenophon Kappas

General Manager, Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation;
Athens, Greece.

DIGITAL MAGAZINE & VIDEOS

Download The 2022-23 Digital Magazine.

2022-edition-videos

Watch the 2022 conference recording.

2023 CONFERENCE SPONSORS

PREMIUM GOLD

California Walnuts

GOLD

Olive Oils From Spain

SILVER

barcelona-culinary-hub-logo
food-logo

BRONZE

Aquanaria
Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos Fundation
Turkiye Logo

COLLABORATORS

Beans is How
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