45 NATIONAL CHEFS AND 16 INTERNATIONAL CHEFS TO COMPETE IN THE FINAL OF THE 22ND NATIONAL TAPAS AND PINCHOS COMPETITION AND THE 10TH VALLADOLID CITY WORLD TAPAS CHAMPIONSHIP

National Competition
The competition is open to active professionals working in hospitality establishments throughout Spain where tapas and/or pinchos are served.
A jury comprising members of the Valladolid Hospitality Association and the competition’s technical organisation has selected the tapas, choosing up to a maximum of 41 finalists to participate in the in-person final. They will be joined by the winners of the four categories of the 2026 Valladolid Provincial Tapas and Pinchos Competition, bringing the total number of finalists to 45. Participants from Valladolid must nevertheless complete their registration with the organisers.
Each candidate selected for the final round has the opportunity to partner with a local establishment in Valladolid, which will act as their host, in order to facilitate access to the ingredients required to prepare their recipe. The establishments, dates and times when the tapas competing in the final or awarded prizes in the competition will be available for sale at their host establishments, at a retail price of €3.50, will be listed in the competition app (SpainIsTapas) and announced on social media for promotional purposes.
The order in which contestants participate will be determined by a draw during the competition presentation on the morning of 9 November. Following this order, during the final round, candidates will take their places at individual cooking stations at five-minute intervals. They will have a maximum of 25 minutes to prepare eight identical tapas for evaluation by each of the seven jury members and for the photographic documentation of each competing tapa.

World Championship
Participants do not have access to Spanish market prices. Therefore, the selection committee will contact them, if deemed appropriate, to advise them that the cost of the recipe must not exceed €1.90.
The jury has selected up to a maximum of 15 international finalists from among the recipes received to participate in the final round. The winner of the previous year’s Spanish National Tapas and Pinchos Competition will be added to the number of selected international participants, bringing the total to 16 finalists.
The following will qualify directly for the final: the top three contestants in the 2nd Asian Tapas Competition; the winner of the 2nd UK Tapas Competition; the winner of the 8th Oceania Tapas Competition; the winner of the 3rd Malaysian Tapas Competition; the winner of the 1st Indian Tapas Competition; the winner of the 1st Texas Tapas Competition; the winner of the 1st Ecuadorian Tapas Competition; the winner of the 1st Swiss Tapas Competition; and two qualifiers from the 1st African Tapas Competition, for which the Mixed Tourism Promotion Company of Valladolid has signed collaboration agreements.
Each selected candidate will be assigned a supporting establishment in Valladolid, acting as a host, which they must contact in advance to provide all the information required to prepare the recipe and where they may carry out any necessary preliminary preparations.
Establishments in Valladolid will offer the winning tapas to the public. These will be identifiable by promotional materials announcing their status as winning tapas in the World Tapas Championship and naming the chef.

International Tapas Festival
Coinciding with the competitions, Valladolid will host a new edition of the International Tapas Festival, which will take place from 10 to 15 November.
During these days, various hospitality establishments across the city will partner with participating chefs and offer their creations to the public. In this way, the dishes presented in the competitions can also be tasted at different locations throughout Valladolid.
All information regarding participating establishments, available tapas, and tasting dates and times will be available through the SpainIsTapas app.
The National Tapas and Pinchos Competition ‘Ciudad de Valladolid’ and the World Tapas Championship ‘Ciudad de Valladolid’, organised by Valladolid City Council through the Mixed Tourism Promotion Company of Valladolid, together with the Provincial Association of Hospitality Business Owners, are sponsored by the Spanish Olive Oil Interprofessional Organisation, Alimentos de Valladolid, Valladolid Provincial Council, Inhostel, Dehesa de los Canónigos, Aquavall, Pago de Valdecuevas, Sarawak, Raíz Culinaria, Mercedes–Adarsa, Coca-Cola, Baena PDO Olive Oils and Mercaolid, with the collaboration of Pan de Valladolid, Escuela Alcazarén, Valladolid Chamber of Commerce, International School of Culinary Arts, the Confectioners’ Association and the Hotels Association.