Industry Intelligence

In honor of Three Kings Day, a traditional Spanish holiday marking the end of Christmas, H-E-B’s Central Market has selected Spain as its next destination for its Passport series of events which began last year with Argentina.

Passport Spain will be held from May 11 through May 24, 2011, and according to H-E-B will be a celebration of Spain’s immense variety of cuisines, wine and culture. Among the festivities will be:

• A cast of renowned chefs -- some visiting directly from Spain – will be on hand to prepare foods for sampling.
• Vegetables and fruit sourced from small huertas, Spain’s acclaimed vegetable farms.
• Exclusive new cheeses, olive oils, olives, sherry wines, spices, and vinegars not yet experienced in the U.S.
• Spanish wines served by experts and the winemakers themselves.
• Flamenco lessons from professional instructors.
• Traditional Spanish tapas and dueling Spanish guitarists.
• More than one hundred cooking classes.

San Antonio, Texas-based Central Market’s open, serpentine-flow, full view European-style layout was developed to offer a new food shopping experience. Stores include an 80-foot seafood case with selections from throughout the world, hundreds of cheeses, 2,500 wine labels, specialty grocery aisles featuring foods from every continent, and a cooking school featuring hands-on instruction.