The final figures confirm the success of the 23rd edition of Madrid Fusión Alimentos de España, which closed with the highest response in its history in terms of delegates (1,874), visitors (26,104) and exhibiting companies (232). But this edition, which paid tribute to the chefs who grew up in the open currents of the culinary revolution that began in Spain at least thirty years ago, stood out above all for the quality of the content on its six stages, which were full for most of the presentations. This was the largest and most international edition, with visitors from 63 countries and the largest number of chefs in its 23 editions. Nearly 200 presentations and round tables took place on the official stages, which ran simultaneously for three days. In addition, the Gastronomic Summit consolidated the internationalisation of the formats that began last year. The commitment to the future of food in the Dreams area continued to catapult the educational dimension of the world's most influential congress, which also saw the success of its Sweet World and Wine stages.

This edition of Madrid Fusión, entitled 'Revolutionaries', not only paid tribute to a generation that has revolutionised and continues to revolutionise cuisine, but also presented the new revolutions that are underway. On the one hand, artificial intelligence as a tool for designing food, menus and dishes, optimising production systems or managing a restaurant, among other things, and on the other, the great zero waste revolution, which was the focus of the presentations by many of the protagonists at this congress. If gastronomy is to contribute in any way to the betterment of society and the health of the planet, it is clear that its leaders are committed to doing so, whether through innovation in the production and use of new ingredients or through a focus on tradition and the knowledge contained in the flavours of the past.

Main Auditorium: Less waste, more harmony with nature

In the main auditorium, Katsuhito Inoue, the soul of Chef's Table (Kyoto, Japan), explained the gastronomic experience offered by his restaurant, inspired by the subtle and ever-changing nature of the Kyoto landscape. The brilliant Dylan Watson-Brown, chef de cuisine at Ernst* (Berlin, Germany), talked about his dashis and regional ingredients in a cuisine that blends zero kilometres and Japanese cooking techniques. Albert Franch, Luka Balac and Carlos Henriques of Estrella Verde Nolla (Helsinki, Finland) showed how they create one of the world's few zero-waste restaurant kitchens. Aware of the difficulties of this decision, they explain that "we didn't want to expand any further because of all the invisible waste generated during transport and, above all, because we want to support the local economy".

Javier Olleros (Culler de Pau**, O Grove, Pontevedra) came from Galicia, and also on the subject of environmental impact, to highlight the value of the grains and seeds produced in his region. Specifically, in a presentation in which he made a direct appeal to hospitals to promote health and nutrition through their kitchens, he highlighted the value of black oats, a cereal endemic to Galicia that is "very important not only in the countryside, but also because cereals like oats are very resistant to sudden climatic changes".

Also in the main auditorium were Javi Estévez (La Tasquería *, Madrid), who has made an art out of transforming offal, Miguel Ángel de la Cruz (La Botica *, Matapozuelos, Valladolid, Spain), who spoke of terroir as inspiration and larder, and Jordi Vilà (Alkimia *, Barcelona), who explained his work in deepening the foundations and history of Catalan cuisine. You have to appreciate the culture of each place," said the chef, who defended the unique DNA of each restaurant, because "it's nice to be able to identify a restaurant by its flavours". Senén Barral, from Inditex's Catering Services, explained the Spanish multinational's 360º collective catering project, which is committed to ethics and low environmental impact.

Nacho Manzano, chef at the Casa Marcial restaurant, received the Madrid Fusión Spanish Food in Defence of the Product award after 30 years of work transforming the Asturian countryside and elevating its products to the highest levels of cuisine. All we do is praise the products," said the chef, who received the award from the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas.

Discovering new talent

The big winners on the final day of the Madrid Fusión Alimentos de España were Axel Smyth and Claudia Merchán, who continue to win awards for the Simpar restaurant in Santiago de Compostela. The Galician couple, who also won the prize for the best ham croquette at Fusión 2025 in Madrid, won the most important award at the gastronomic summit, becoming the new Revelation Chefs at Balfegó. As if that were not enough, in September 2024 they won the first prize in the World Tripe Cooking Championship, held in San Sebastian Gastronomika Euskadi Basque Country.

The list of honours could have been even longer, as the young chef and pastry chef Claudia Merchán was also a finalist in the Pastry Chef Revelation prize, sponsored by Torrons Vicens, which finally went to Luis Fernández, the very young 24-year-old pastry chef from the Boutique Hotel Eunice (Salamanca), who won over the jury with a dessert of soft almond nougat, tangerine and bourbon.

The Revelation Room prize went to Malaga. It was won by Andrea Martín, head waiter at Tragatá Málaga, chef Benito Gómez's tapas bar. Martín, who stands out for her reliability and balance between accessibility and delicacy, won in a competition in which five of the six candidates were women. Aquanaria's Sustainability Revelation Award, presented by the company's commercial director Pedro Sánchez, went to Miguel Ángel de la Cruz, chef at La Botica de Matapozuelos* (Valladolid). Another repeat winner was Frutas Eloy, which won the prize for the best revelation stand with a beautiful display that paid homage to Valencia with the representation of a barraca.

Pastry myths and a great classic

One of the most important global trends in wine, white wines for ageing, was the main protagonist on Wednesday at Madrid Fusión The Wine Edition 2025. Winemaker Rafael Palacios emphasised their value, stating that we are facing "a new era in Spanish white wines, in which great strides are being made in the quality of this category of wines to compete in the international market". The Wine Congress ended with a wine and sake pairing by Hugo Muñoz and Marco Broccani, chef and sommelier at Ugo Chan* (Madrid), and Japanese drinks expert Pablo Alomar.

The last day of MF Pastry featured two pastry legends: Jordi Roca (El Celler de Can Roca***, Girona) previewed the sweet part of the restaurant's new menu and revealed his working methods, and Paco Torreblanca (Torreblanca, Alicante) talked about recovering flavours. The conference also included a session on sustainable baking with Elisabete Ferreira (Pao de Gimonde, Portugal) and a favourite pastry: The milojas, in five versions offered by five top pastry chefs, including Fátima Gismero (Fátima Gismero, Pioz, Guadalajara), Ana Jarquín (La Pastisseria, Barcelona), Claudia Covarrubias (Panod, Madrid), Noelia Tomoshigue (Monroebakes, Madrid) and Estela Gutiérrez (Estela Hojaldre, Madrid).