From 21 to 23 November, Plaza de Catalunya will become the great showcase for Catalan EVOO, with around 50 producers and a dozen cooking sessions with chefs such as Iolanda Bustos, Carlota Claver, Iñaki Aldrey and master pastry chef Oriol Balaguer, among others.
On 21, 22 and 23 November, first-pressed extra virgin olive oil will display all its aroma and freshness in the heart of Catalonia, which will become the largest showcase for Catalan oil. Barcelona’s Plaza de Catalunya will host the first New Oil Market, an event that will bring together some 50 extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) producers from 21 Catalan regions and offer a dozen live cooking sessions with chefs of the calibre of Ada Parellada, Iolanda Bustos, Carlota Claver, Susanna Aragón, Iñaki Aldrey and master pastry chef Oriol Balaguer, among others. All of them will showcase the culinary versatility of this essential ingredient in Catalan cuisine.
The Market will be a real celebration open to everyone, where you can discover, taste and buy first-press oil directly from the producers, and where you can also learn about, try and appreciate the richness, diversity and quality of the Catalan olive oil sector.
In addition, the event will be complemented by a unique range of local food and wine, and talks led by experts in the dissemination of olive oil culture. Because the New Olive Oil Market, promoted by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Generalitat de Catalunya, through PRODECA, aims to bring this essential product of the Mediterranean diet closer to the urban public, strengthening the link between producers and citizens and highlighting one of the country’s gastronomic treasures, an essential product of the Mediterranean diet and a symbol of health, culture and identity.
A tour of Catalonia through its oils
At the New Oil Market, you can taste practically the whole of Catalonia without leaving the centre of Barcelona. The fifty or so producers of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) who will fill the Plaza de Catalunya will offer their first-pressed oils, representing up to 21 regions and the five Protected Designations of Origin for Catalan oil: Les Garrigues, Siurana, Terra Alta, Baix Ebre-Montsià and Empordà.
The public will be able to discover a unique range of EVOO from native varieties. They will be able to taste the prized and delicate Arbequina from Les Garrigues and Camp de Tarragona; olive oils from the Farga variety, representative of the genetic heritage of the Terres de l’Ebre; oils from the grossal variety, found in Pallars and Montsec; from the carrasquenya and vera del montserratí varieties, typical of the Vallès region and Central Catalonia; and also the Tramontana-touch , an EVOO from the argudell variety, native to Alt Empordà.
A sensory journey to discover, taste and take home the country’s liquid gold, directly from the hands of those who make it possible.
Live cooking with top chefs and local oils
In addition to the exhibition, sales and tasting area, the Market will offer a wide range of free activities, open to everyone and without prior reservation, to learn about and enjoy first-press olive oil.
The Tasting Room stage will welcome master pastry chef and chocolatier Oriol Balaguer, who will offer two sessions, one on the importance of EVOO in artisan recapte cakes, and another on the best sweet pairing (new oil with chocolate); to chefs Susana Aragón, who will cook candied Prat artichokes with migas and olive pâté; and Adriana Carcelén (Rasoterra), who will offer a breakfast with olive oil in the first session on Sunday.
In between, Empordà chef Iolanda Bustos will present a session full of floral and oil aromas entitled “Emulsion of flavours, landscape and culture”, in collaboration with the Empordà PDO Oil; the chef of the Atempo* restaurant (Barcelona) Iñaki Aldrey will reveal “The identity of an EVOO in a drop: the Atempo 2026 coupage”; Ada Parellada (Semproniana) from Barcelona will cook with oils from the Terra Alta PDO in her session on the technique of confiting; and chef Carlota Claver, from the La Gormanda restaurant, will demonstrate why her “secret ingredient in the kitchen is extra virgin olive oil from the Baix Ebre – Montsià PDO”.
For his part, food writer and chef Jordi Àvila will offer a dynamic show cooking session entitled “The art of cooking with Les Garrigues PDO extra virgin olive oil”.
This stage will also host Caram Caram’s session on “New oil: liquid gold that reaches the table!”, where EVOO from 2024 and 2025, filtered and unfiltered, will be tasted and compared. For his part, Ivan Caelles, olive grower from Pallars Jussà and president of the Vall de Barcedana oil mill, will present “Unique oils of Catalonia” in a session where attendees will also be able to taste oils from the Terres de l’Ebre, an Arbequina from Vallbona de les Monges and a high mountain oil from Pallars Jussà.
Sessions to taste and learn about the product in depth
You can also attend talks that delve deeper into the world of olive oil, such as the one given by Àngels Calvo, head of the Official Virgin Olive Oil Tasting Panel of Catalonia. This session will be followed by another in which you can “dip bread” with master baker Xavier Pàmies from Forn de Pa Sistaré in Reus and Montserrat Gelonch from the Siurana PDO: a practical workshop on learning about and tasting oil and bread, to learn how to better appreciate these two great products in our diet.
Another of the “nutritious” sessions will be offered by Agustí Romero, IRTA researcher and head of the olive growing team, during the presentation of the “Small Guide to Oils of the Montserrat Rural Park“. Meanwhile, Clara Antúnez, from La Gastronòmica, will offer a tasting of extra virgin olive oil to rediscover our culinary roots in her session “Roots and fusion: a journey through Catalan cuisine via olive oil”.
Finally, the Gremi de Bacallaners de Catalunya (Guild of Cod Merchants of Catalonia) will offer a session full of flavour and tradition entitled “Gastrosabias, oil in cod cuisine“.
A gastronomic festival open to all
Overall, the New Oil Market aims to be an immersive gastronomic experience designed for families, young people and foodies. Therefore, in addition to the Tasting Room and the stands of the new oil producers, there will be a Gastronomic Marquee where you can enjoy seasonal and local cuisine, prepared by the teams from the restaurants Villa Retiro* (Grupo Xerta) and La Cala Navega (Palamós), the Gremi de Bacallaners de Catalunya, master pastry chef Oriol Balaguer and Caterí Cuinant Formatges.
The tastings can be paired with Catalan wines, which can be discovered at the Wine Bar, with a selection of 7 young wines and 8 wines from the exhibiting producers, who produce both EVOO and local wines.
In short, this event will combine gastronomy, culture and dissemination, and aims to become an essential annual fixture in the gastronomic calendar of the city and the whole of Catalonia. It will be launched in November 2025, coinciding with the year in which Catalonia is World Gastronomy Region, thus reaffirming the central role of local produce and our cuisine.
New Oil Market
21 to 23 November 2025
Opening hours: Friday, 3pm to 8pm; Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 8pm
Plaza Catalunya, Barcelona
#MercatOliNou
Source: ACEVEDO COM