Madrid, June 9, 2026 – Following its stops in Berlin and Paris, the 2026 edition of The Italian Show arrived in the Spanish capital for its third Madrid edition, confirming the mission of the project conceived and developed by I Love Italian Food: promoting authentic Italian cuisine around the world by building meaningful relationships with professionals in local markets.
More than five hundred Ho.Re.Ca. professionals—including chefs, restaurateurs, pizza makers, distributors, producers, and trade media—gathered at Próxima Estación for a full day of training, networking, and tastings dedicated to Made in Italy.
The Madrid edition, organized together with the Italian Chefs Federation in Spain and in collaboration with FACYRE (the Spanish Federation of Chefs and Pastry Chefs), under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy in Madrid, ICE – Italian Trade Agency, and Com.It.Es Madrid, perfectly represents the working approach of I Love Italian Food: not an event imposed from above, but a platform built together with the professional ecosystem of the host country.
On stage and among the audience, Italian cuisine engaged in an equal dialogue with the Spanish worlds of gastronomy, hospitality, and sommellerie, in a market—the Iberian one—where Italian gastronomy is experiencing an extraordinary phase of growth and maturity.
Talks: Hospitality, Successful Business Models, and the New Generation of Pizza Makers
The Talks area brought together some of the most influential voices in contemporary gastronomy.
The session dedicated to restaurant dining within hotels as a strategic asset featured Paolo Casagrande, chef of Lasarte Restaurant (three Michelin stars), Mar De Miguel, Executive Vice President of the Madrid Hotel Association, Giuseppe Vincelli of the Hotel InterContinental Madrid, and Andrea Tumbarello, founder of Don Giovanni.
This Italian-Spanish dialogue highlighted how gastronomy has become one of the main factors influencing travelers’ choices and a key driver of positioning and profitability for the hospitality industry. Casagrande reflected on the radical transformation hotel restaurants have undergone over the past decade; De Miguel emphasized the role of gastronomy in Madrid’s tourism growth; while Tumbarello identified talent management as one of the sector’s most urgent challenges.
Another highly anticipated discussion focused on successful business models in contemporary dining, featuring Ciro Cristiano (Baldoria and Beata Pasta), Fabrizio Polacco (Grosso Napoletano), and Anna Contri (Italian Fooding).
At the heart of the discussion was the delicate balance between growth and quality. The shared belief was that brand expansion should never come at the expense of the product when there is a genuine commitment to excellence. Polacco stressed the importance of building brand and product simultaneously, while Contri reminded the audience that branding may attract customers the first time, but only the experience brings them back.
The program concluded with a discussion on the new generation of pizza makers in Spain, featuring Gennaro Arrichiello (La Regina), winner of the Best Neapolitan Pizza 2026 at the Spanish Gourmet Pizza Championship; Eric Ayala (Il Figlio di Emiliano); and Mario Vicedomini (Pizzeria Malocchio).
The three speakers described a profession that is becoming increasingly specialized and respected in a country where consumers are paying growing attention to ingredients and production methods, and where Neapolitan pizza has become part of everyday gastronomic culture.
Tastings and Pizza Show: Dialogue Between Cultures at the Center
The spirit of exchange between Italian cuisine and Spanish professionals also emerged through the live demonstrations.
Massimiliano Delle Vedove, Executive Chef of Smoked Room by Dani García (two Michelin stars), together with Luis Baselga, Spain’s Best Sommelier 2026, explored the concept of molecular pairing, demonstrating how chefs and sommeliers jointly create a gastronomic experience starting from real dishes served in the restaurant—beginning with grilled sea cucumber and green shiso—and how each wine can amplify, balance, or transform the final perception of a dish.
Emiliano Celli (Granduke Madrid) highlighted the value of offal and traditional nose-to-tail cooking, bringing together Italian and Spanish culinary traditions in a demonstration that connected recipes, techniques, and gastronomic philosophies that have long remained on the margins of fine dining.
The four-hands session featuring Julio Zhang (Soy Kitchen) and Davide Bonato (Gioia) used the world of dim sum as a starting point to explore surprising connections between Chinese and Italian culinary cultures: a stuffed pasta filled with shrimp, guanciale, and caramelized tomato, steamed instead of boiled.
“Their dim sum are our ravioli,” summarized Bonato in a session that combined creativity, precision, and—when the two chefs announced their intention to experiment with an Asian-inspired pizza—a touch of irresistible curiosity.
On the pizza front, Ciro Cristiano and the Baldoria team explored the defining elements of contemporary Neapolitan pizza, reflecting on the value of the people behind every dough:
“Without passion, pizza would simply be flour, water, salt, and a little yeast.”
Massimiliano Saieva (Roman Pizza Lab) analyzed the international evolution of Roman-style pizza by the slice, advocating a return to authenticity while presenting his signature pizza baciata filled with porchetta and smoked provola.
Brothers Mattias and Gioel Demaio, from their restaurant in Bilbao, demonstrated the preparation of thin and crispy Roman pizza, the result of a rigorous fusion of Italian and Basque ingredients that shows how respect for products can cross borders without losing identity.
One Day, One Community
The Madrid edition concluded with the first-ever presentation in Spain of the 100% Italiano Awards, promoted by the 100% Italiano Institute to recognize those who help preserve and spread authentic Italian gastronomic culture beyond national borders: 38 restaurants and pizzerias from the Community of Madrid and six new 100% Italiano Ambassadors.
With its Madrid stop, The Italian Show further confirms its role as a professional platform capable of creating lasting relationships between Made in Italy businesses and local gastronomic ecosystems.
In Spain, this dialogue found its fullest expression: Italians and Spaniards sharing the same stage to tell the story of a cuisine that represents not only excellence in production, but above all a shared language capable of creating connections, enhancing expertise, and building communities.
The Italian Show – Madrid is a project by I Love Italian Food, organized by the Italian Chefs Federation in Spain, in collaboration with FACYRE. Under the patronage of: the Embassy of Italy in Madrid, ICE – Italian Trade Agency, and Com.It.Es Madrid. Partners: 100% Italiano Institute, Marcas de Restauración, Accademia Italiana della Cucina. Sponsors: Mulino Caputo, Granterre, Latteria Sorrentina, Lurisia. Technical Partners: Aeternum, EffeUno, Giannini, Izzo, Mammafiore, Mapfre, and Zorzi.
