Life & Style

Catalan Antonio Àlvarez runs the Park Hyatt Hotel in Buenos Aires, the most important and luxurious hotel in the Argentinian capital. He is an example of a new emigration phenomenon.

During last year all signposts have been unified, beach bars have been enhanced and a new urban plan has been presented. The Catalan coastal town of Sitges (20 km south from Barcelona) is ready for the sunny season.

Valentí Mongay, President of Garraf’s ‘Slow-food’ and coordinator of the 'Km 0' initiative, has said that by reducing the number of intermediaries, there would be more affordable quality products available, that would be respect seasonal products. He also explain the ‘Flavour Ark’ initiative to preserve local species.

The young singing sensation trained with FC Barcelona’s first team and even joined in a game with some of the players. Yesterday, Barça won Shakhtar at the first round of the Champions League’s Quarters.

Torres is one of Catalonia's most globally recognised wine houses, with vineyards and wineries in places such as Chile and California. Company President Miguel A. Torres believes that innovation in every step of the process of wine production is necessary. He also stressed the importance of exports to get over the crisis.

Chinese businessmen have chosen the Catalan coastal village to be the model for their new holiday resort in China. This Costa Brava village will thus have a carbon copy in Zhangzhou, Fujian region’s Xiamen bay.

The Catalan coastal town was nominated in the “Government” category of Twitter’s “Shorty Awards”. The Mayor of Newmark, Coory Booker won in this category. Vilassar de Mar was third, just behind Barack Obama’s Twitter.

The Rovira Brothers make an unrivalled gastronomic duo. They claim that having a close relationship with the producers is a key element to get the best out of the products they use.

Catalan Olga Fontanillas is the founder of this NYC-based company. She assures this is the best time to break into the American market.

PIMECAVA is the Association of Small and Medium-sized Cava Producers. It is chaired by Mercè Rosell, who claims in a video interview that the only way to compete against French champagne is by marketing cava as a quality and prestigious product. In order to do that it is fundamental to have the support of big cava companies like Freixenet and Codorniu and a good relationship with exporters.

The Town Hall’s twitter is a finalist in the ‘Best Government’ category in the third edition of the US-based Shorty-awards. @vilassardemar is the only European site nominated.

Work on historic building in Sant Sadurní will finish soon. The museum will be dedicated to the history of cava and the home town of Catalonia’s most renowned drink.

In a video interview, the Catalan chef who has been awarded five Michelin Stars, Carme Ruscalleda, explains her vision of Catalan cuisine. She describes it as a combination of specific techniques and wit carried out by farmers and fishermen mixed with French and Italian bourgeois cuisine. According to her, Catalonia’s gastronomy is derived from local products and is spreading worldwide, thanks in part to the influence of Ferran Adrià.

Chef Mercè Brunés is invited to China to present Catalan dishes on local media.

The Catalan Chef Santi Santamaria died of a heart attack this February. Last Autumn he gave this video interview in which he depicts his view on cuisine, the importance of local quality products, his own career and the new generation of the Catalan chefs.