The first Mercat de l’Oli Nou in Barcelona announces its programme of live cooking and tastings

On 21, 22 and 23 November, first-pressing extra virgin olive oil will unfurl all its aroma and freshness in the heart of Catalonia, which will become the largest showcase of Catalan oil. Barcelona's Plaça de Catalunya will host the 1st Mercat de l’Oli Nou, an event bringing together some 50 extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) producers from 21 Catalan counties, and will offer a dozen live cooking sessions with chefs of the calibre ofAda Parellada, Iolanda Bustos, Carlota Claver, Susanna Aragón, Iñaki Aldrey and master pastry chef Oriol Balaguer, among others. All of them will demonstrate the culinary versatility of this essential ingredient of Catalan cuisine. 

The Mercat de l’Oli Nou will be a genuine celebration open to everyone, where you can discover, taste and buy first-pressing oil directly from the producers, and where you can also learn about, taste and appreciate the richness, diversity and quality of the Catalan olive oil sector.

In addition, the proposal will be complemented by a unique, locally sourced food and wine offer, and talks led by experts in spreading olive oil culture. Because the Mercat de l’Oli Nou, promoted by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Government of Catalonia through PRODECA, seeks to bring this product closer to urban audiences, strengthening the link between producers and citizens and highlighting one of the country's gastronomic treasures, an essential ingredient of the Mediterranean diet, a symbol of health, culture and identity.

A journey through Catalan geography via its oils 

In the Mercat de l’Oli Nou you will be able to taste practically the whole Catalan territory without leaving central Barcelona. The fifty or so extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) producers who will fill Plaça de Catalunya will offer their first-pressing oils, representing up to 21 counties 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. Visitors will be able to taste the prized, delicate arbequina from Les Garrigues and Camp de Tarragona; also olive oils of the farga variety, representative of the genetic heritage of Terres de l’Ebre; oils of the grossal variety, found in El Pallars and El Montsec; of the carrasquenya and vera of the Montserrat area, varieties typical of the Vallès counties and Central Catalonia; or also EVOO of the variety touched by the Tramuntana wind, the argudell, native to L’Alt Empordà. 

A sensory journey to discover, taste and take home the country's liquid gold, straight from the hands of those who make it possible. 

Live cooking with leading chefs and local oils

In addition to the exhibition, sales and tasting area, the Mercat will offer an extensive programme of free activities, open to everyone without prior booking, to learn about and enjoy first-pressing oil. 

The Tasting Classroom stage will host everyone from master pastry chef and chocolatier Oriol Balaguer, who will give two sessions, one on the importance of EVOO in artisan coques de recapte, and another on the best sweet pairing (new oil with chocolate); to the chefs Susana Aragon, who will cook confit Prat artichoke with “migas” and olive pâté; or Adriana Carcelén (Rasoterra), who will serve an olive oil breakfast in Sunday's first session. 

In between, the Empordà chef Iolanda Bustos will present a session full of floral and oil aromas entitled “Emulsió de sabors paisatge i cultura”, together with the PDO Oli Empordà; the chef of the Atempo* restaurant (Barcelona), Iñaki Aldrey, will reveal “La identitat d’un OOVE en una gota: el coupage Atempo 2026”; the Barcelona chef Ada Parellada (Semproniana) will cook with oils from the PDO Oli Terra Alta in her session on the confit technique; and chef Carlota Claver, of the restaurant La Gormanda,, will show why her “secret ingredient in the kitchen is the extra virgin oil of the PDO Baix Ebre - Montsià”. 

For his part, the food communicator and chef Jordi Àvila will give a dynamic showcooking entitled “L’art de cuinar amb l’oli d’oliva verge extra DOP Les Garrigues”. 

This stage will also host the Caram Caram session on “L’oli nou: or líquid que arriba a taula!”, where EVOOs from 2024 and 2025 will be tasted and compared, filtered and unfiltered. Meanwhile, Ivan Caelles, an olive grower from El Pallars Jussà and chair of the Vall de Barcedana oil mill, will present “Olis singulars de Catalunya”, a session in which attendees will also be able to taste oils from Terres de l’Ebre, an arbequina from Vallbona de les Monges and a high-mountain oil from El Pallars Jussà. 

Sessions to taste and get to know the product in depth  

There will also be talks to deepen knowledge of olive oil, such as the one given by Àngels Calvo, head of the Official Panel of Virgin Olive Oils of Catalonia. A session that will be followed by another where you can “dip bread”, led by master baker Xavier Pàmies, of Forn de Pa Sistaré in Reus, i Montserrat Gelonch, of the PDO Siurana, a hands-on workshop on learning about and tasting oil and bread, to better appreciate these two great products of our diet.  

Another “nourishing” session will be the one given by Agustí Romero, researcher at IRTA and head of the olive-growing team, during the presentation of the “Petita Guia d'olis del Parc Rural del Montserrat.” Meanwhile, Clara Antúnez, of La Gastronòmica,, will offer an extra virgin olive oil tasting to rediscover our culinary roots, in her session “Arrels i fusió: un viatge per la cuina catalana a través de l’oli d’oliva”. 

Finally, the Guild of Cod Merchants of Catalonia will offer a session full of flavour and tradition entitled “Gastrosàvies, l'oli en la cuina del bacallà”.  

A gastronomic celebration open to all

But as a whole, Mercat de l’Oli Nou it aims to be an immersive gastronomic experience designed for families, young people and foodies. That is why, in addition to the Tasting Classroom and the new-oil producers' stands, there will be a Gastronomy Marquee where visitors can enjoy seasonal, local cuisine, prepared by the teams of the restaurants Villa Retiro and La Cala Navega (Palamós), by the cod merchants of the Guild of Cod Merchants of Catalonia, by master pastry chef Oriol Balaguer and by Caterí Cuinant Formatges.

The tasting bites can be paired with Catalan wines, available at the Wine Bar, with a selection of 7 new wines and 8 wines from the exhibiting producers, producers of both EVOO and local wines. In short, an event combining gastronomy, culture and outreach, which aims to become an essential annual date in the gastronomic calendar of the city and of all Catalonia and which makes its debut this November 2025, coinciding with the year in which Catalonia is World Region of Gastronomy, thus reaffirming the central role of local produce and of our cuisine.