Jamón Serrano 

The Fundación del Jamón Serrano Español has launched its activities for the 2012 campaign "Original Flavors: The Mediterranean Essence", a three-year plan for product promotion subsidized by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the European Commission which began last year in Poland, Germany and Denmark, together with extra virgin olive oil from Baena and DO Ribera del Duero wines.

Activities were held in March in the three countries, and included seminars at culinary schools, workshops for chefs, Jamón Serrano slicing and tasting master classes, product tasting and pairing analysis.

These promotional activities were particularly successful in Denmark, where they were complemented by dinners with members of the press and consumer motivators, who can help promote awareness and consumption of our products. The workshop, held at the Copenhagen Hospitality College, included the presence and collaboration of the manager of the Spanish Commercial Office in the Danish capital.

After presenting the program in Denmark, the campaign moved on to Germany, where similar workshops and training sessions were held at culinary schools and with consumer motivators. The following week, activities wrapped up in Poland.

Training sessions were held in cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Silkeborg, Warsaw and Poznan, where the main objective was to stress the importance and quality of the three products included in the campaign.

The workshops were given by expert technicians and such prestigious chefs as Fernando del Cerro from Casa José, which holds a Michelin star, Alberto Chicote, and Danish chef Rasmus Leck Fischer.

Recipe contests were also organized in these countries for restaurateurs and students at hotel management and catering schools. Awards will be presented at upcoming exhibitions in these countries (Polagra Poznan 2012, Anuga Cologne 2013 and TEMA Copenhagen 2013), which will include the participation of the Fundación.