The taste of knowledge
D*na Festival Gastronòmic · Dénia 2026
On the last weekend of September, more than 800 metres of Dénia’s Marineta Cassiana promenade became a great stage for Mediterranean gastronomy. The ninth edition of D*na Festival Gastronòmic, curated by Quique Dacosta, devoted its programme to passing on knowledge: from chef to producer, from book to plate.
Showcookings, workshops, tastings and some fifty stalls of producers, artisans and restaurants from the Marina Alta and the Valencia region offered visitors everything from rice and Dénia red prawn to honey, olive oil, horchata and vermouth.
Ferran Adrià Closes the Festival
The creator of elBulli and elBullifoundation was one of the stars of this edition. On the Escenario del Mar he spoke about “what home cooking has to be like in 2026, in a world that has changed and where we have no time to spend hours cooking”, and called Dénia “one of the best places to eat in Spain”. “D*na is wonderful because it brings the whole world of cooking closer to people”, he said.
The same stage welcomed Quique Dacosta, Paco Roncero, Susi Díaz, Óscar Molina, Paola Freire, Alberto Ferruz, Nazario Cano, Carolina Álvarez, Ausiàs Signes, José Manuel López and Anna Terrés.
From Great Chefs to Local Produce
The essence of D*na is the coming together, with hardly any distance from the public, of the great names in cooking and the people who work with produce every day. “Here the distances simply disappear”, said Paco Roncero. Paellas and rice dishes, Dénia red prawn, Alicante wines, honey, olive oil and artisan charcuterie from the Marina Alta filled the promenade, and the free, limited-capacity workshops were once again among the most popular formats. Matosinhos, the Portuguese member of the UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy network, was this year’s guest city.
Heading for the Tenth Edition
Dénia, a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy since 2015, is already working on the tenth edition, to be held in 2027. “We reach the tenth anniversary with a consolidated festival, but with the duty to keep improving”, said Quique Dacosta.
D*na Festival Gastronòmic · Capítol IX · 26–27 September 2026 · Marineta Cassiana, Dénia · dnafestivaldenia.com · Photography: Class & Villas · D*na Festival (opening and Escenario del Mar)
Feature published in Class & Villas no. 348 (October 2026), pages 52–56: read it in the magazine.