Ibérica Expo London in partnership with The European Pizza Show

Richard Bigg – Camino

Richard Bigg is the Founder and Managing Director of the well-established group of the Camino restaurants. His early days in hospitality started in the UK and the US in the 80s and 90s before opening his own place in 1995 in Shoreditch. Soon after, he built up a diverse group of bars and restaurants, a night club, and a music festival (Big Chill). In 2007, he decided to merge his love of Spain with hospitality and opened the first Camino restaurant in King’s Cross.

Throughout the last 15 years, Camino restaurants have been thoroughly involved in the food and wine culture of Spain. They have won various awards, including Best Bar in Britain by Observer Food Monthly, Best Bar in London for Bar Pepito, and Best Spanish Wine list UK, and most recently for the last two years, the Certification of Quality Spanish restaurants from the Spanish Embassy.

“This wonderful recognition is simply down to the enthusiasm of all who work at Camino, none more so than Nacho del Campo, our executive chef. Nacho works tirelessly to constantly maintain high standards of food and consistency. He imports many of his ingredients directly from Spain. I select the wines with support from Hannah Duffy Russo, Camino’s Head of Drinks, always a fun time of the year!” – R Bigg, 2022.

Encina Barragán – Ojos Foods

Encina Barragán, founder and owner of The Ojos Foods, specialises in the import of Spanish products. The Ojos Foods is a multi-award-winning business for the quality of their products with the recognition of the prestigious Golden Fork for Best Imported Foods 2019.

After over 30 years in the UK and many years in the corporate world, Encina Barragán decided to find her roots back in a small village from León, Spain. She grew up enjoying the fantastic, distinctive and unforgettable taste of home-made and home-grown products. Artisan traditions and products have been taken over by foods that are heavily processed and full of preservatives and additives. Her mission is to reach to as many people as she can, so they can enjoy good, tasty, simple and natural food like she has all her life.

Rosana Gómez-Movellán – Embassy of Spain

Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment of Spain in the United Kingdom. Rosana represents the direct competencies of the Ministry, institutional and technical, in both countries.

Besides being part of the National Veterinary Corps, Rosana Gómez Movellán has overseen the Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment areas in the diplomatic representation of Spain in London since 2017, from where she carries out advisory and bilateral collaboration work on these matters as well as analysis and assessment of these affairs. In addition, she pays careful attention to promoting initiatives that help, share and disseminate best practices in the agricultural and livestock sector to address common challenges, including animal welfare. Previously, she held responsibilities in the Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FEOGA), an agency of the Ministry for Agriculture that manages funds allocated by the Common Agricultural Policy. In this position, Rosana executed a wide knowledge both in this matter and in the legislative community of the primary sector.

Óscar Blázquez – Ibérica Spanish Food

Company’s founder with a consolidated history of working in the food & beverages industry. Ibérica Spanish Food is an award-winning importer and distributor of authentic and traditional Spanish food. Their aim is to offer a unique range when sourcing authentic Spanish food by tasting and selecting only the best products. Ibérica Spanish Food’s portfolio includes more than 400 unique products from 50 different suppliers that have been carefully selected by hand. Also, they travel frequently to Spain to renew and strengthen their relationships with their suppliers, many of whom are dedicated family businesses that have farmed for generations.

Over the years, Ibérica Spanish Food has built an exceptional reputation as one of the leading Spanish suppliers in the UK through an honest and sincere approach to their customer needs, combining excellent service, and quality at a competitive price. They work with many of the best independent restaurants, tapas bars & wholesalers in southern England and London, who value the quality and high standard of the Spanish culinary culture. They personally deliver their products weekly all-over southern England and London in their refrigerated vans and use overnight courier for nationwide deliveries. Ibérica Spanish Food is always looking to connect with businesses that share the same enthusiasm for authentic and flavoursome Spanish food.

Óscar Casorrán – Amigo Food Group

Managing Director at Amigo Food Group (Paella Amigo Ltd). Amigo Food Group is a food supply chain specialist, wholesale food importer and distributor, strategically located in Northwest London. They aim to offer solutions to businesses within the hospitality industry outsourcing their food and ingredients requirements providing high standards of quality products at best prices together with an excellent service.

Some of their customer’s profiles are restaurants, hotels, delicatessen, small/medium groups and production kitchens. They are currently introducing a new online platform where both the existing and new customers can easily place orders by graphically pinpointing the products, they can also select these and create a favourite list — making the process easier, faster and efficient altogether. Amigo Food Group’s aim is to achieve the excellence when it comes to orders processing and service.

David Menéndez – Mevalco

Managing Director at Mevalco (Fine Foods from Spain) Ltd. Inspired by the effort and love he experienced when he entered the food production industry in his home country, David Menéndez founded Mevalco over a decade ago to bring artisanal Spanish produce to the UK. Focusing on products from farmers and producers using traditional agro-ecological methods, their imports—from cured meats to honeys, paprika to potato crisps—are notable for their extraordinary quality and are selected for their seasonality and flavour.

David’s mission in founding Mevalco is to provide a new route to market for artisanal producers and small-scale farmers, and thus help stop the abandonment of the Spanish countryside and the decline of the country’s rural industries. They create direct relationships with suppliers who value their environment and respect the tradition and history of the food that they produce.