Santa Cruz de Tenerife has been named Spanish Gastronomy Capital for 2027, putting the city’s food scene firmly in the spotlight for the year ahead.
The title recognises the capital’s local produce, culinary talent and growing gastronomic identity, with a programme planned across all twelve months of 2027.
The city’s winning proposal was presented under the slogan ‘Santa Cruz de Tenerife, cruce de sabores’, or ‘Santa Cruz de Tenerife, crossroads of flavours’. At the heart of the bid was an unusual idea called ‘El Recetario’, using the structure of a traditional recipe book to set out the city’s plans.
Rather than simply listing events, the proposal organises the programme as if it were a menu, with activities spread across the four seasons of the year.
A year focused on food
The programme will involve restaurants, markets, local producers, hotels, shops, training centres, tourism businesses, cultural organisations and other parts of the city.
The plan includes activities designed to promote local products, gastronomy, markets, hospitality, training, culture and tourism, with the aim of giving the sector a boost throughout 2027.
Santa Cruz receives more than 3.4 million visitors a year, including tourists, day visitors and cruise passengers, and the city hopes to make food an even bigger part of the experience for those coming to the capital.
The project will also look beyond Santa Cruz itself, with plans to work alongside the Cabildo de Tenerife and the Government of the Canary Islands to promote products, wines, markets, chefs and quality brands from across the archipelago.
A project built around the local food scene
The bid has been backed by the city’s Club de Producto Degusta Santa Cruz, which has played a role in bringing businesses and public organisations together around the local gastronomic offer.
More than 100 organisations from the public, business, tourism, gastronomy, retail, education, culture and other sectors supported the candidature, alongside the unanimous backing of both the Santa Cruz Town Council and Cabildo de Tenerife.
The city also plans to establish a dedicated Technical Office, managed by the Sociedad de Desarrollo de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, to coordinate the programme and keep track of the various events and projects throughout the year.
More than just food
The organisers are keen to present the capitality as something bigger than a collection of food events.
The project is based around ten values including identity, authenticity, local produce, sustainability, hospitality, collaboration, training, culture and tourism promotion.
There is also a clear ambition to use the title to give greater visibility to Canary Islands cuisine and the people working behind it.
So, in 2027, Santa Cruz will be inviting visitors to discover the Canary Islands from the table.
And considering how much good food there is on these islands, that’s not a bad invitation.
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