The keys to artisan cheese trade take centre stage at Lactium

On 20 and 21 April, Vic will host the 16th edition of Lactium, showing its cross-cutting, educational and festive approach to artisan cheese. The event will bring together 40 artisan cheesemakers and a retail offering of more than 200 cheeses to taste and buy by the piece. 

At the presentation, Bet Piella, councillor for Fairs and Markets at Vic Town Council, explained that "artisan cheese will take centre stage in a very special Lactium committed to food innovation, sustainability and, above all, making Catalan cheese a key element of this fair, regarded as the benchmark event and meeting point of the Catalan artisan cheese world". She also highlighted the fair's link with the city of Vic so that "a visit to Lactium is complete, taking in the shops, restaurants and cultural activities our city has to offer". 

For his part, Isaac Gelabert, director of Lactium, explained that Lactium is a fair model specialising in the cheese sector in an area with substantial milk production and a highly productive, dense cheesemaking fabric. "From the outset we have tried to give a voice to all the players in the cheese value chain who are key to the sector, and the Bonpreu i Esclat Cheese Classroom is a clear example of our wish to educate, inform and convey each cheesemaker's story. We do all this in a festive, inclusive space where visitors stay on average between 3 and 4 hours, which means Lactium brings together an attractive set of activities in a wonderful atmosphere". 

The 16th edition of Lactium will hold the 15th Lactium Competition: Catalan Artisan Cheeses 2024, and will reveal the Best Catalan Artisan Cheese 2024 Award, chosen from among all the gold medals in each category. It will also host the 2nd edition of the Best Catalan Cheesecake Award.  

The keys to the artisan cheese trade 

Coinciding with the 16th edition of Lactium, on Sunday 21 April at Casa Ricart in Vic, a symposium will be held to talk and debate about the artisan cheese trade. It is a constructive, inclusive and cross-cutting session aimed at creating a space for meeting and debate where every perspective along Catalonia's artisan cheese value chain has a voice. 

The session is supported by Prodeca , which once again stands alongside Lactium, as it considers the cheese sector strategic for the country thanks to its territorial impact and footprint, its care and conservation of the landscape, biodiversity, and also its entrepreneurial character and generational renewal. "We like supporting Lactium for the innovation and sustainability it promotes in the cheese sector", says Laura Martí, head of Prodeca's local competitiveness activities, who also outlined this year's collaboration at the fair around the keys to the artisan cheese trade, which will be "a space for debate and meeting to share and create synergies with everyone who forms part of the cheese value chain". 

Attendance is free and strictly for trade professionals; prior registration is required viathis form.

Family shows, live music and cheese tasting 

Lactium will offer a cross-cutting programme of activities for all audiences. Live music, family shows, book launches and the announcement of the Best Catalan Cheese Lactium 2024, made strictly live, the Best Catalan Cheesecake 2024, and the prize-giving of the 15th Lactium Competition 2024: Catalan artisan cheeses. All scheduled activities are free and open to all. 

The Txis Bar is the tasting area where visitors can try and discover the cheeses on show at Lactium, cut and served to enjoy in Parc Jaume Balmes itself. Each board will have 5 cheeses, a Just For Cheese - Can Bech preserve, cereal crackers and a glass of wine from the Cap de Ruc winery, the fair's wine.