XX Gastronomic Gathering | CETT-UB highlights gastronomy as a tool for health, well-being and sports performance

CETT Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy has held the 20th Gastronomic Gathering (Trobada Gastronòmica), a special edition marking the event’s twentieth anniversary and focusing on the relationship between gastronomy, nutrition and sport. 

The event brought together internationally renowned chefs, sports nutrition professionals, researchers and healthcare experts to reflect on the role of food in physical performance, public health and overall well-being. The gathering further reinforces CETT-UB’s position as a hub for knowledge and applied research in gastronomy, health and sustainability. 

The commemorative roundtable celebrating the event’s 20th anniversary featured leading figures such as Joan Roca, Eduard Xatruch, Fina Puigdevall, Martina Puigvert, Carlota Puigvert, Clara Puigvert and Paolo Casagrande, moderated by food journalist Carme Gasull. The chefs shared a common vision of a more conscious, sustainable and people-centred gastronomy. 

Joan Roca highlighted the role of education and research in shaping the future of the sector: “Universities provide rigour, knowledge and critical thinking. When gastronomy enters the university, it gains depth.” Along the same lines, Eduard Xatruch emphasised the human dimension of cooking: “AI is not a chef,” stating that gastronomy remains fundamentally about “products, territory and personal choices.” 

Watch the roundtable discussion. 

Food, health and sport: a holistic perspective 

The twentieth edition devoted a central part of its programme to exploring the relationship between nutrition and sports performance. Nutrition and sports medicine professionals agreed that healthy eating cannot be understood solely through nutritional calculations, but must also consider emotional well-being, personalisation and a conscious relationship with food. 

Lorena Delgado, nutritionist at the Sports Medicine Unit of Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, advocated for a holistic vision of sports nutrition: “Sports nutrition is not just about balancing macronutrients or supplementation. It is also about the pleasure of eating, listening to the body and building a healthy relationship with food.” 

For her part, Saioa Segura, dietitian-nutritionist at the High Performance Centre (CAR) in Sant Cugat, warned about the risks of information overload and indiscriminate supplementation: “Before supplementing, we must educate. There are no universal solutions: every athlete is an individual with their own context.” 

Mireia Porta, Head of Nutrition and Medical Services at FC Barcelona, highlighted the importance of scientific evidence and adapting nutrition to each stage of an athlete’s development: “We do not always need to eat the same way or take the same supplements. The key lies in periodisation and scientific evidence.” 

Gastronomy, knowledge and collective well-being 

The conclusions of the event highlighted the need to foster synergies between universities, research, gastronomy and healthcare in order to address current challenges related to eating habits, sustainability and public health. 

In this regard, the 20th Gastronomic Gathering reinforced one of CETT-UB’s core ideas: understanding gastronomy not only as a culinary experience, but also as a tool for social transformation, well-being and quality of life. 

CETT President Dr Maria Abellanet emphasised the role of universities in the evolution of contemporary gastronomy: “When cooking enters the university, it is transformed,” and reminded attendees that the Gastronomic Gathering has been, throughout the last two decades, “a laboratory of ideas that has anticipated many of the major debates within the sector.”