2026 · Barcelona (Spain)
The 11th edition of Parabere Forum will be held in Barcelona on 8th and 9th March 2026.
If you are from the industry (independent chefs, front of house, sommeliers, bartenders, baristas, bakers, farmers and academics) please, send an email regarding your membership to: contact (@) parabereforum (.) com
Corporate tickets can be purchased here.
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2026 PROGRAMME
SUNDAY 8th March 2026
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Introduction |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Discussion with the audience |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Charles Spence Professor and head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory, University of Oxford |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Martina Puigvert Awarded Chef |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | COFFEE BREAK |
| 11:30 – 11:45 | Petra Neogrania Project |
| 11:45 – 12:15 | Carme Ruscalleda in conversation with Maria Canabal Awarded Chef |
| 12:15 – 12:45 | Mindy Woods Awarded aboriginal chef, advocate for indigenous food |
| 12:45 – 14:00 | LUNCH |
| 14:30 | Departure to workshops |
| Free evening in Barcelona |
MONDAY 9th March 2026
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Gastrosavies Guardians of the Catalonian food heritage |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Dan Saladino Awarded author, BBC journalist |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Fidaa Abuhamdiya Palestinian chef, food activist |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Alice Delcourt in conversation with Licia Granello Awarded chef, food activist |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | COFFEE BREAK |
| 11:30 – 11:45 | Pastificio di Martino Project |
| 11:45 – 12:15 | Rebeca Ingram Professor of food culture and Department Chair, University of Texas |
| 12:15 – 12:45 | Winner Award |
| 12:15 – 12:45 | Olia Hercules Ukranian Awarded chef and author |
| 12:45 – 14:00 | LUNCH |
| 14:00 – 14:15 | S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy |
| 14:15 – 14:45 | ROUND TABLE hosted by Monica Berg Awarded bartender, entrepreneur, educator |
| 14:45 – 15:15 | Lilia Meneses Winner of the 2016 Parabere Grant |
| 15:15 – 15:45 | Discussion with the audience |
| 15:45 – 16:15 | COFFEE BREAK |
| 16:15 – 16:30 | Parabere Care Award Ceremony |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Conclusion |
| 20:00 – 00:00 | Party |
Speakers
Alice Delcourt
Alice’s path to the kitchen began with a study of Political Science and Italian, leading her to Florence and a lasting devotion to Italy’s culture and ingredients. After experiences in Panama and New York, she returned to Italy to train at the Park Hyatt Milan and London’s Michelin-starred River Café, where she refined a philosophy rooted in seasonality, restraint, and sustainability. She later co-founded Erba Brusca in Milan, where her plant-forward cuisine is guided by Orto Brusco, a five-acre urban farm beside the restaurant. Through her food, classes, and retreats, Alice shares a refined, land-driven vision of contemporary Italian cooking.
Prof. Charles Spence
Professor Charles Spence is a world-famous experimental psychologist with a specialization in neuroscience-inspired multisensory design. He has worked with many of the world’s largest companies across the globe since establishing the Crossmodal Research Laboratory (CRL) at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University in 1997. Prof. Spence has published over 1,250 academic articles and edited
Fidaa Abuhamdiya
Born in 1982 in Hebron, she grew up and completed her schooling there. From an early age, she developed a deep love for food, which led her to pursue a career as a professional cook. After high school, she studied at the Notre Dame Culinary School in Jerusalem, then moved to Italy to continue her
Gastrosavies
The Gastrosavies project was created within the framework of Catalonia’s recognition as the World Region of Gastronomy 2025, with the aim of preserving and passing on traditional Catalan cuisine to future generations through the transmission of culinary heritage. The project, carried out with the support of the Alicia Foundation, is based on the search for
Lilia Menses
Lilia Esther Meneses Trujillo is an Indigenous woman of the Guanano people of Colombia. She is a guardian of ancestral wisdom and an entrepreneur rooted in the Amazon, founder of the « Casa de saberes y sabores » (House of Knowledge and Flavors) in the Panure Indigenous Reserve. From this sacred territory, she nurtures memory and identity
Mindy Woods
Mindy Woods is a proud Bundjalung woman, chef, speaker, and advocate for Indigenous food sovereignty. She is the founder of Karkalla On Country, an Indigenous-owned business dedicated to sharing First Nations food knowledge through culture, story, and lived experience. Mindy’s work sits at the intersection of food, community, healing, and justice, with a strong focus
Olia Hercules
Olia Hercules is the author Strong Roots: A Ukrainian Family Story through War, Exile and Hope. It is the story of a century in Ukraine told through four generations of her family, taking us from years of Russification to her own parents’ flights from Ukraine when their town was occupied in 2022. Olia was born
Carme Ruscalleda
A self-taught and meticulous cook, she became the first Catalan chef to earn three Michelin stars. Boldly innovative and deeply creative, her cuisine is a living dialogue between tradition and renewal—an ever-evolving reinterpretation of ancestral recipes guided by a profound respect for health, seasonality, and harmony with the land. She was born in 1952 in
Martina Puigvert
Martina Puigvert Puigdevall was recently awarded the Young Chef Award 2024 by the Michelin Guide. Martina is a chef at Les Cols Restaurant (2 Michelin stars, 1 Michelin Green Star, 3 Repsol Suns, Repsol Sustainable Sun, National Gastronomy Award, and recognized by The Best Chef Awards 2025). Les Cols is also included in La Liste
Dan Saladino
Dan Saladino has been a food journalist for almost 20 years. As a broadcaster he presents and producers editions of BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme. His first book, Eating to Extinction: The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them, is an epic journey into the history, culture and future of food,
