Dreams, the space created at Madrid Fusión 2024 to look at the future of food from the perspective of science and the foodtech ecosystem, will leave the Gastronomy Summit for the first time and move to Toledo on Monday 2 December for a day of talks, round tables and workshops. Dreams Raíz Culinaria will take place throughout the day at the Círculo del Arte, located in the old church of San Vicente in the Castilian capital of La Mancha.

The conference, organised by Vocento Gastronomía and the Regional Ministry of Economy, Business and Employment of Castilla-La Mancha and entitled 'The future of food and gastronomic territories', will discuss product knowledge as a tool for creativity and the future of gastronomic learning, the limits of R&D with local products in haute cuisine and the alliance between food and people's health. There will also be talks on energy efficiency in the world of gastronomy, how artificial intelligence is already helping to market Spanish cheese, and hyper-specialisation in green gastronomic destinations. 

There will also be talks on how to modernise and dignify the farming profession and on the future of food and wine tourism. As in the case of Madrid Fusión, the concept and programme have been developed jointly by the Madrid Fusión team and the Alícia Foundation, an organisation dedicated to technological innovation in the kitchen, improving eating habits and valuing agri-food heritage, and a world leader in studies on the relationship between food and health.

Speakers include chefs Xosé Cannas (Pepe Vieira**, Pontevedra), Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo (Oba* Casas Ibañez, Albacete), Ignacio Echapresto (Venta Monclavillo**, Daroca de Rioja, La Rioja) and Paco Pérez (Miramar**, Llançà, Girona); Iván Cerdeño (El Cigarral**, Toledo) and the director of the Food Idea Lab, David Chamorro, will share the stage with professionals from other sectors, such as the director of the Interprofessional Dairy Organisation (InLac), Nuria María Arribas; the vice-president of the European Innovation Agency, Juan Francisco Delgado; and the business director of John Deere Ibérica, Eduardo Martínez de Ubago. Also taking part will be Jorge Blanco, head of R&D at XFarm, a farm management application; Samuel López, CEO of Plantae, the artificial intelligence that optimises irrigation systems; and Albert Duaigües, CEO of RawData, the 360º farm management platform. Dr Lucía Alonso Díez, dietician and nutritionist at the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona; the general director of the Alícia Foundation, Toni Massanés; the director of sustainability and new projects at Abadia Retuerta-Le Domaine, Fernando Lázaro; and Manuel Giráldez, manager of the Casal de Armán winery. To talk about product knowledge as a tool for creativity and the future of gastronomic learning, Gabriel Bartra, Sapiens Education Coordinator at the Madrid Culinary Centre (MACC) and Content Director at Bullipedia (elBullifoundation), and Pablo Márquez, Gastronomy Director at the MACC, will take part in Dreams. The event in Toledo will also be attended by Chilean chef Francisco Cárdenas, head chef at the Kadeau restaurant** (Copenhagen, Denmark), and Alberto Segade, head waiter and sommelier at this Danish restaurant, who was recently voted the best sommelier in Denmark.

During the day, there will also be a workshop on taste and how to go beyond the limits of taste, analysing what we know about the mechanism of taste, why we like what we like and the keys to producing it.

During the day, there will also be a workshop on taste and how to go beyond the limits of taste, analysing what we know about the mechanism of taste, why we like what we like and the keys to producing appetising food in the world of food technology. This session of Dreams Raíz Culinaria in Toledo will be open to the public until it is full on the stage, which, as in Madrid Fusión, will be a stage with a ring and stands around it, this time with a circular screen. On a planet where natural resources are overexploited, innovation in the food sector is increasingly necessary. Consumers have become more aware and demanding. They are demanding healthier food because they are increasingly concerned about health and food safety. The advances and disruptions brought about by technology are opening up new avenues and horizons to write the new chapter of gastronomy. What is happening? Where are we going? How do we get there? What is the role of gastronomy in all this? Dreams, a space born with the vocation to build through dialogue, because the best way to predict the future is to create it.