Mar de Santiago is this month’s leading geo-destination for exciting your taste buds. Apart from the different festivals being held during these weeks, Valga Town Council has prepared the 3rd Gastronomic August, which will lead up to the 33rd Eel and Local Eau-de-vie Festival, planned for August 19, 20, 25, and 27.
The Gastronomic August programme, organised by “Indo e Vindo Gastronomía,” will feature different cooking shows, workshops, and culinary competitions. All of this based on the municipal district’s star product, eel.
The programme’s first two activities enjoyed a lot of support. The first consisted of a children’s cooking workshop, which was a great success.
The second, aimed at adults, presented a complete cooking show featuring the chefs Rocío Garrido, Fran Jamardo, and Coque Fariña. It was held in Valga’s Eua-de-Vie Interpretation Centre.
The almost 50 participants undertook a gastronomic tour based on four different eel dishes. They thereby visited, by means of their taste buds, Indian pies, followed by Venezuela with an original arepa recipe. Their tour continued with Italy, represented by a variation of traditional arancini. The last stop on this singular gastronomic trip was Thailand, with a Thai eel and bean curry. And, to round off the experience, the dishes were paired with different wines.
Valga’s Gastronomic August will continue with the competition called “@nguía Chef,” which will take place on August 17 and 18 in Irmáns Dios Mosquera Park. In the case of August 20, 22, and 29, there will be another three cooking shows: A lot more than eau-de-vie, Eau-de-vie on the plate, and 10 years of “eel tapa.”
These initiatives will prepare the way for the activity programme of the 33rd Eel and Local Eau-de-vie Festival. This will begin on Saturday, August 19, with an Eel Taparoute-competition. This will enable ou to savour different eel tapas in 9 of Valga’s bars: Caprichos, Maneiro, Potel, Couceiro, Auditorio, Palmera Beach, Pardal, Comparada, and Pontellón. The tapas will be served free with drinks and can be rated by clients on August 19 and 20. On August 26 and 27, there will only be a tasting.
An ideal event for discovering more about Valga. Nearby sites of interest include Irmáns Dios Mosquera Park, the History of Valga Museum, the statue of La Bella Otero, and the Mina Mercedes Lagoon.
If you have more time, you can visit other places to discover the other municipal districts included in the Mar de Santiago geo-destination: Pontecesures, Catoira, and Vilanova de Arousa.