International Gastronomic & Confectionery Seminar Coming to Santiago de Cuba

The celebration of Santiago de Cuba’s 500th anniversary as a city will feature a special moment with the Excelencias’ Santiago de Cuba 2015 International Gastronomic & Confectionery Seminar.

The event is slated for May 26-30, 2015, under the sponsorship of the Provincial Government of Santiago de Cuba and the local MINTUR Delegation, the Tourism Educational System of the Ministry of Tourism (FORMATUR is the Spanish acronym), the Republic of Cuba’s Federation of Culinary Associations, the Latin American and Caribbean Confectionery and Patisserie School, Cuba’s Bartenders Association, Cuba’s Sommeliers Club and the Excelencias Group.

The event is included in the program of initiatives related to the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the foundation of Santiago de Cuba and it targets hotel executives, restaurants and bistros, beverage and food suppliers, chefs, bartenders, sommeliers, marketing and PR specialists from the gastronomic sector, as well as historians, intellectuals and boldface names from culture and the society.

The seminar also opens its doors to cacao producers, researchers from the cacao and chocolate fields, chocolate makers, confectioners, gastronomic staff and marketers from around the world, as it is intended to be a space to learn and debate on this multifaceted product, ranging from its discovery and introduction in Cuba by the Spaniards, to the latest uses and preparation styles.

The program of activities includes master lectures and tasting sessions, which will be tackling such matters as Santiago’s and Cuba’s cuisine, influence of Caribbean customs, service, presentation ways, state-of-the-art trends on international cuisine, poster sessions, tasting sessions with Cuban confectionary, pairings with rums and Habanos; as well as guided visits to the Cacao Experimental Station in Baracoa, Micro-grafting Center and Model Plantations in Baracoa, the first village founded in Cuba during the colonial age, labeled Cuban Capital of Cacao.

The Federation of Culinary Associations and the Bartenders Club in the province have also launched the “Santiago 500” contest, aimed at all Cuban chefs and bartenders, with residence in the country. Any entity or premise from both the public and private sectors are eligible.

The Excelencias Group’s Santiago de Cuba International Gastronomic Seminar and the First International Symposium “From Cacao to Chocolate” will be attended by delegates and guests from France, Belgium, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the United States and Cuba. World-class chef Paco Torreblanca –considered one of the world’s finest confectioners- will also attend.