Málaga turns gastronomy into culture with more than 100 activities across 2026 and 2027

Málaga is setting out to prove that its cuisine is far more than an attraction for visitors. Under the slogan “Málaga, where food is culture”, the city has launched its programme as European Capital of Gastronomic Culture 2026/2027, placing its culinary heritage at the heart of its cultural and tourism agenda over the coming months.

The programme brings together more than 100 activities and initiatives focused on Mediterranean cuisine, traditional recipes, local products, innovation and sustainable practices. Its aim is to promote Málaga’s gastronomy both in Spain and internationally, while also preserving the knowledge, flavours and customs that form part of the identity of the city and the wider province.

The distinction was awarded by the European Community of New Gastronomy, which selects a representative European city each year. Málaga succeeds the Polish city of Gdańsk, where the official handover took place during the fifth European Gastronomy Congress.

A title built around origin, excellence and the future

The programme is structured around three main ideas. The first is origin, understood as the recovery and promotion of the ingredients, recipes and traditions that have shaped Málaga cuisine.

The second is excellence, linked to the quality of local produce and the work carried out by restaurants, chefs, producers and hospitality professionals. The third looks towards the future, highlighting zero-kilometre produce, the sea, the mountains and the fertile countryside as essential resources for developing a more sustainable gastronomic model.

The initiative is not intended merely as a series of events, but as a long-term city project. Its goals include encouraging public participation, supporting professional training, promoting responsible practices and building partnerships with other European destinations beyond Málaga’s official period as capital.

Málaga’s identity represented through ten dishes

One of the most prominent activities will be “Málaga in 10 Dishes”, a concept designed to represent the city’s culinary identity around a single table.

The initiative will aim to reflect the variety of a cuisine shaped by fish, garden produce, wine, raisins, traditional recipes and influences accumulated over centuries.

There will also be dinners featuring chefs from previous European Capitals of Gastronomic Culture, including Kraków, Oeiras, Stockholm, Madrid and Gdańsk. These events will create a dialogue between different European cuisines and bring new techniques, ingredients and interpretations of culinary heritage to Málaga.

More than 70 Sabor a Málaga activities

The programme will extend across the entire province through the involvement of Málaga Provincial Council and its promotional brand Sabor a Málaga.

More than 70 provincial activities are planned up to May 2027, including food fairs in different regions, product competitions, professional events, culinary routes and specialist congresses.

Initiatives such as Chefs for Children will also be included, while a major promotional event is being prepared in Madrid to showcase the diversity and identity of Málaga’s cuisine outside the province.

As a result, the title will not be limited to Málaga city. Products, producers and traditions from the Axarquía, Serranía de Ronda, Guadalhorce Valley, Costa del Sol and other areas will all form part of the shared programme.

Traditional recipes, training and dishes inspired by Picasso

The calendar will also focus on passing culinary knowledge on to future generations. The Málaga Hospitality Association, Mahos, will organise practical workshops on traditional cuisine in hospitality schools, introducing younger professionals to popular local recipes.

Meanwhile, La Carta Malacitana will develop the initiative “Gastronomy in Picasso”, featuring menus inspired by the work of the Málaga-born artist. The project will connect two central elements of the city’s cultural identity: its artistic heritage and its cuisine.

The Regulatory Council for the Málaga, Sierras de Málaga and Pasas de Málaga denominations of origin will also organise public tastings in neighbourhoods and open cultural venues, with the aim of introducing these products to wider audiences and explaining their history.

Recovering recipes that were never written down

One of the most unusual activities will be led by the University of Málaga. Students from the Gastronomic Sciences degree programme will take part in a workshop designed to locate and recover forgotten recipes from across the province.

The project will focus on dishes passed down orally within families but never recorded in traditional cookbooks. The research will help document recipes at risk of disappearing and create a map of Málaga’s culinary memory.

The Málaga Gastronomic Academy will also organise a series of talks entitled “Málaga from the Outside”, in which leading figures from Spain’s food world will analyse local cuisine from an external perspective.

The KM0 Gastronomic Club will also hold a special edition of its Malagueños con Sabor series, dedicated to Enrique Mapelli and Mari Pepa Estrada, two figures closely connected to the city’s gastronomic history.

A project supported by the gastronomic sector

The programme has been developed with the involvement of numerous institutions and organisations. These include Málaga City Council, Málaga Provincial Council, the European Community of New Gastronomy, Mahos, La Carta Malacitana, the University of Málaga, the Gastronomic Academy, the KM0 Gastronomic Club and the Regulatory Council for the local denominations of origin.

This joint effort between public bodies, hospitality businesses, educational institutions, producers and associations aims to offer a complete vision of gastronomy, from ingredients and inherited recipes to research, training and contemporary dining.

Through this title, Málaga hopes to strengthen its position on the European gastronomic map without losing sight of its roots. Espetos, wines, raisins, garden produce, seafood dishes and family recipes will all play a leading role in a programme designed to show that eating is also a way of understanding a city’s history, landscape and way of life.

Information source: Málaga City Council and the official programme for the European Capital of Gastronomic Culture 2026/2027.