Ferran Adrià, guest chef of the IX D*na Festival Dénia 2026

This morning, the festival presented its new edition at the Pilar Faus Public Library in Valencia, in an event that brought together institutional representatives and leading figures in the gastronomic sector. One of the festival's biggest names was revealed: Ferran Adrià will be the guest of honor at the 2026 D*na Festival. Joining the Catalan chef will be other renowned figures in gastronomy such as Paco Roncero, Susi Díaz, Óscar Molina, and Paola Freire.

The presentation included the participation of José Manuel Camarero Benítez, Regional Secretary for Tourism of the Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism; Rafa Carrió, President of the Dénia Creative City of Gastronomy Foundation and Mayor of Dénia; Quique Dacosta, three Michelin-starred chef and gastronomic commissioner of the D*na Festival; Vicky Sevilla, chef of Arrels Restaurant, with one Michelin star; and David Figueras, editor of Planeta Gastro.

Under the motto of this ninth edition, the festival champions the value of gastronomic books as spaces for memory, learning, and the transmission of knowledge. This philosophy resonates with Dacosta's own career, who, during the presentation, emphasized the fundamental role books have played as a source of inspiration and training throughout his professional life.

“Sharing a recipe is also sharing a way of life, a landscape, roots, and memories,” Carrió noted during the presentation, highlighting the role of family recipe books and gastronomic publications as a collective legacy. The mayor also emphasized the scale of the event. “For two days, we will have 32 workshops and 10 presentations at the Sea Stage, but behind all these numbers lies the same idea: to learn, to taste, to discover, and above all, to share.”

Ferran Adrià, star guest

The presence of Ferran Adrià is one of the highlights of this year's festival. Considered one of the chefs who transformed contemporary gastronomy, he will participate during both days of the festival and will be responsible for closing the event.

Dacosta highlighted that Adrià will be the star guest of this edition because of "his leadership in the transformation of Spanish cuisine and for having been one of the chefs who was clear that knowledge should be given in an open way so that cuisine could continue to evolve."

Alongside Adrià, the festival will bring together very different approaches to cuisine. Paco Roncero, head chef of Paco Roncero Restaurante in Madrid, will arrive in Dénia with a career marked by research and innovation, while Susi Díaz, chef of La Finca in Elche, represents a cuisine closely linked to Mediterranean produce. Joining them from Ibiza will be Óscar Molina, chef of La Gaia, and from Portugal, David F. Jesús of Seiva, with a menu focused on the plant world.

Locally-focused cuisine will be represented by Ausiàs Signes of Ausiàs Restaurant in Pedreguer; Bruno Ruiz of Aticcook in Dénia; José Manuel López of CaSeko, also in Dénia; Nazario Cano of Nazario Cano Restaurante in Moraira; and Kristian Lutaud, a chef with ties to the history of elBulli and a long-standing connection to the gastronomy of the Marina Alta region. The program also includes other approaches to sharing gastronomy, with Paola Freire, creator of Foodtropia, and Anna Terrés of Anna Recetas Fáciles, who have found in digital channels another way to teach and promote cooking.

A large table facing the sea

During the festival weekend, Marineta Cassiana will once again become a meeting point for chefs, producers, professionals, and the public. The program will feature 24 producers, 20 restaurateurs, three spaces dedicated to rice, 32 workshops distributed among the Agora, Cuina, and Univers Líquid areas, as well as 10 presentations on the seaside stage.

The 2026 edition will also feature the participation of Matosinhos, a Portuguese city belonging, like Dénia, to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network of Gastronomy, as well as Requena, the Spanish City of Wine 2026, reinforcing the dialogue between territories, products and gastronomic cultures.

Gastronomy, tourism and culture as a territorial identity

For his part, the Regional Secretary for Tourism, José Manuel Camarero, pointed out that D*na “is much more than a gastronomic event” and highlighted an edition that focuses on “reviving culture, traditions, and, above all, the transmission of recipes and knowledge.” This way of understanding gastronomy, according to Camarero, also represents “the kind of tourism we want, linked to the products, traditions, and identity of the Valencian Community.”

For her part, Vicky Sevilla highlighted the festival's friendly and welcoming nature, describing it as a unique event on the culinary calendar, while David Figueras emphasized the value of books as a tool for preserving and transmitting stories, techniques, and creative processes of chefs.