Red Prickly Pear from the Canary Islands, Best Spanish Product at Bellavita Expo in London
This unique, healthy, organic product took home top honors, and many other Spanish products received Ibérica stars, including Ibérico ham and wines.
The 7th edition of the Bellavita Expo in London was recently held at the end of October to promote a wide range of exquisite gastronomic delights from top-flight Mediterranean producers. Thousands of people attended, mainly from the retail and HoReCa sectors, and it included several components, including an awards competition, masterclasses, cooking demos, seminars and also debates.
At the awards portion, the Best Spanish Product distinction (3 Ibérica stars) went to a very unique food: powdered red prickly pear from the Canary Islands, from the company Tuno Canarias. The owners, José Ledesma and Inmaculada Bello, have been working on this project tirelessly for two years, with an unwavering commitment to provide a product that is healthy, delicious and unique. Their product is natural, organic and harvested by hand in Tenerife. They use it to make everything from jam and salad dressing to tea and liquor.
A total of 3,000 products participated and around 30 judges—chefs, sommeliers, importers, etc.—chose the very best based on flavor, packaging, sustainability, and innovation, among other qua lities. Other Ibérica star winners included La Jabugueña Ibérico hams; Atavus Priorat, Iura 2016; and Atlante, Listán Negro, all 3 stars; Casas de Hualdo’s semi-soft cheese and Palma spice gin from Mallorca Distillery, with 2 stars; and Bodegas Matarromera’s Prestigio 2015 and Huerta Dehesa El Alcornocal “Iberitos”, with 1 star.
