ISSUE 657 • 19th - 25th October 2018
EST 2005
Spain’s capital of Student funding gastronomy CREDIT: Almeria City Council
THUMBS UP: Fernandez-Pacheco said the city would be ‘the country’s gastronomy showcase.’
By Cathy Elelman ALMERIA City is celebrating being named Spain’s culinary capital. The selection panel has officially rubber stamped the provincial capital’s triumph as Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2019. Almeria mayor, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, said the city would be “the country’s gastronomy showcase.” Plans will now go ahead for around 300 food related events next year. The Spanish Capital of Gastronomy is an annual event promoted by the Spanish Catering Federation
and the Spanish Federation of Tourism Journalists and Writers. The jury, headed by Secretary of State for Tourism Isabel Oliver, valued Almeria’s candidacy for its “solid institutional backing, the more than 10,000 letters of support, an excellent offer of land and sea, a revolutionary production model which is a commitment to sustainability, and a creative cuisine which combines tradition and innovation.” The national Food Capital crown will be passed on to Almeria from current title holder León during the Fitur International Tourism Fair in the last week of January next year.
claims
MEMBERS of Albox’s conservative Partido Popular (PP) have claimed local students have not been able to access grants due to the council leaving an Almanzora town umbrella group. The party said the decision to leave the Commonwealth of Almanzora Municipalities was ‘unfortunate.’ They also claimed up to eight students in the town were missing out on €150 a month grants which could help them pay for their studies. “Our party filed a motion for Albox to return to the Commonwealth but Mayor Francisco Torrecillas does not seem interested. He has done absolutely nothing after 10 months,” the PP said. “The Commonwealth has invested more than €4.5 million in education programmes, initiatives and scholarships since 2012. Albox residents have not been able to benefit from this,” the group added. The decision to leave the Commonwealth was taken by Torrecillas’ predecessor Rogelio Mena. The PP claimed the decision was now impacting on students on apprenticeships with the Consentino company. The Commonwealth grants are aimed at helping students on low incomes pay for transport to training courses, according to the PP. They can also help the unemployed by providing them with grants while they attend skills training courses.