Eating is a universal pleasure. Eating well is a religion in Spain. We Spaniards love to talk about food while we are eating.
If, in addition, food is served to you in a place by the sea after you have had a good swim at the beach and you share this experience with good friends or family then, you are getting closer to the Mediterranean lifestyle.
One of those favorite places for lovers of good food is Denia and its surroundings. A city with a rich history in gastronomic culture. Gastronomy that reflects the treasures that farmers, breeders and fishermen have brought to the table for centuries.
Food in Denia is culture, landscapes, sharing and it is hard work.
This is well known by Floren Terrades – Director of the Office of Innovation and Creativity (Dénia City Council). Since 2015 he manages the project “Dénia, UNESCO City of Gastronomy”, which belongs to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. His professional work has focused on the development of territorial 
innovation and local economic promotion projects, EU community initiatives (ERDF, ESF, CREATIVE EUROPE…) and the creation of transnational cooperation networks focused on culture and productive sectors.
Floren, what is the reason that made it possible for Denia to be declared Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO?
We had a long cultural tradition linked to gastronomy, we preserved its legacy of products and recipes and we had earned a fair reputation for good cuisine and good restaurants. With all that, we already had a more than worthy letter of presentation. But we also presented a project to UNESCO to make gastronomy a strategic axis for the economic rebalancing of Dénia and its region (La Marina Alta), the recovery of the landscape environment and the revaluation of the cultural heritage. It is a project that has its inspiration and practice rooted in the United Nations Sustainable Development Objectives, which are our reference and guide when programming actions.
What responsibility does this imply, what does the city have to do to maintain this status?
Belonging to the UNESCO Creative Cities network has mainly two areas of attention. On the international level, we are committed to being in contact with the other cities in the network, which means, for example, promoting cultural and economic exchanges, establishing collaboration agreements with them, sharing experiences of good practices or participating in their gastronomic events. We are particularly satisfied with the Erasmus + Youth4Food program, which has allowed students and teachers of gastronomy from five cities (Denia, Parma, Östersund, Bergen and Gaziantep) to share our resources and our singularities.
At a local level we have the obligation to develop our project Dénia&Marina Alta Tastinglife which aims to re-establish the communication between producers, hoteliers and consumers in order to rebuild and consolidate a Local Agro-Food System based on local products, tradition, innovation and sustainability. We have a powerful engine, tourism, to achieve this. In these four years as Creative City of Gastronomy we have been working in this line, studying the environment, making proposals and implementing specific actions, such as the D*na festivals, the Forum of the same name or the promotion of products from the region in the Market of Dénia. In short, what we want is to reinforce a differentiated gastronomic offer, which is what gives us personality and value.
Recommend us a visit to some place, monument, natural zone… of the city, that is not for gastronomic reasons.
The territory of Denia has a long history linked to its strategic and privileged position in front of the Mediterranean. The Montgó Natural Park is impressive, a protective and totemic mountain range for the inhabitants of the region. If the mountain has an already beautiful image, its natural treasures and the views from its summit are exceptional. At its feet, Les Rotes is one of the pioneering environments for local tourism. In the urban area is a must visit the castle, a military fortress that brings together the footprint of all the villages that used it as a refuge and defense. I also recommend a nice walk through the narrow streets of the old town and the fishermen’s quarter.
The Red Prawn is the emblem of the city in terms of gastronomy, but would you recommend another dish or typical food, which you find especially wonderful?
The Red Prawn is the iceberg of an extraordinary and diverse cuisine linked to sea products. The “llandeta de peix” or Arroz a Banda are dishes of pure seafaring tradition, dishes that were prepared on board the boats for the feeding of the crews. And there is another native and popular elaboration that is generating high levels of innovation and gaining presence in the most prestigious professional kitchens: the cocas. A dough of flour, wheat or corn, is the base of these exquisite bites that accept any product from the garden, the field or the sea in its cover.
