volcano teide wins canary islands gourmet sandwich championship 2026

Volcano Teide wins Canary Islands Gourmet Sandwich Championship 2026

Volcano Teide crowned champion with lamb creation

Volcano Teide has been declared the winner of this Wednesday’s Canary Islands Gourmet Sandwich Championship, held as part of GastroCanarias 2026. The winning entry, created by Abraham Rodríguez under the direction of chef Josu Mendoza, won over the jury with a creation deeply rooted in the landscape, memory and gastronomic identity of the Canary Islands. It triumphed over around ten competitors, each of whom had 30 minutes to prepare and present their dish live.

The sandwich was made in the Volcano Teide café, located on the slopes of Mount Teide next to the base station of the Teide Cable Car, at an altitude of 2,356 metres. This makes it a dish born in one of the most striking and emblematic settings in the Canary Islands.

Pelibuey lamb and traditional Gomeran technique

Volcano Teide says the star ingredient was Pelibuey lamb — also known as the Canarian hair sheep — a breed historically linked to the archipelago’s livestock farming tradition and the ancient Atlantic routes connecting Africa, the Canary Islands and the Americas. Working with this key ingredient, the winning representative developed a proposal inspired by embarrado gomero, a traditional technique from La Gomera in which marinade, slow cooking and time transform simple ingredients into dishes full of flavour and character.

In the case of Volcano Teide’s creation, this technique allowed the team to enhance and intensify all the qualities of the Pelibuey lamb while respecting the natural tenderness and juiciness of the meat. The sandwich also featured ingredients closely tied to the islands’ gastronomic identity, including palm honey, almogrote made with aged sheep’s cheese, passion fruit, Palmeran pepper, fennel, celery, Reineta apples, fresh sprouts and a passion fruit vinaigrette with smoked oil.

The lamb, previously marinated and preserved, was cooked for 24 hours at a low temperature to achieve tender, succulent meat with layers of flavour. The presentation was completed with an artisan piece designed by craftswoman Pilar, inspired by the Canarian callaos (traditional stone cooking pots) and the islands’ volcanic landscape.

A tribute to Canarian gastronomic heritage

Volcano Teide emphasised that this recognition is a source of immense pride for the entire café team and highlights the work, creativity and commitment to Canarian produce and cuisine that takes place every day at the highest café in Spain. In his presentation to the jury, Abraham championed this very connection between territory, landscape and gastronomic memory, aiming to create a sandwich that spoke of the Canary Islands through flavour, landscape and heritage.

Ultimately, the proposal sought to represent the historical link between Africa, the Canary Islands and the Americas, as well as the culinary legacy of previous generations, where marinades, preservation and flavour were part of the islands’ traditional cooking.

Runner-up spot in Best Barraquito competition

The Volcano Teide café team once again made its mark at GastroCanarias 2026, also securing second place in the Best Barraquito of the Canary Islands competition, held on the same Wednesday as part of the archipelago’s premier gastronomic event. The entry, made with Don Manuel coffee roasted in La Palma, earned a spot among the best creations in the Canary Islands, finishing just a few points behind the winning proposal thanks to a recipe designed to achieve the perfect balance between coffee, liqueur, milk and aromas, while also drawing inspiration from the landscape and surroundings of Mount Teide.

The competition brought together around ten participants, each having 15 minutes to prepare and defend their creation live before the jury, in one of the most-watched contests at GastroCanarias. During his presentation, Luis Martínez explained that the goal was to ensure no single flavour overpowered the others, seeking a harmonious combination where each ingredient had its place and could be appreciated with equal intensity — from the specialist organic coffee to Licor 43, milk, cinnamon and lemon shavings.

The Volcano Teide barraquito was born in the café located next to the base station of the Teide Cable Car, at 2,356 metres above sea level, incorporating elements such as cinnamon and grated lemon to evoke the volcanic atmosphere and the characteristic sea of clouds of the Teide National Park.

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