Cress cream for Pope Leo XIV

The visit of Pope Leo XIV a Gran Canaria will also have a gastronomic reading. Thirteen professionals from School of the Canary Islands Hotels, Hecansa, together with two students from the Kitchen Management cycle, They will be responsible for preparing and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner of the Holy Father during his stay on the island, scheduled for Thursday 11 June and Friday morning 12. The team will assume, besides, all the logistics linked to this service.

The choice of Hecansa, public company attached to the Department of Tourism and Employment of the Government of the Canary Islands, responds to the desire to offer a careful proposal, representative and deeply linked to the culinary identity of the Archipelago. The device will be made up of kitchen and living room professionals, among them four former students who today carry out their work in accommodation establishments managed by the entity itself.

The bishop of the Diocese of the Canary Islands, Jose Mazuelos, transferred the Minister of Tourism and Employment, Jessica de Leon, and the CEO of Hecansa, Paola Plasencia, the decision to entrust this public company with the preparation and service of His Holiness's menus. Mazuelas thanked Hecansa for its involvement in a visit that he described as an event of great relevance for the Diocese, and stressed that the occasion will allow the gastronomic wealth of the Canary Islands to be shown, born from the earth, of the sea and a culinary tradition marked by hospitality.

The cuisine that will be served to the Pope Leo XIV aspires to be more than a succession of dishes. It will be a way to present Canary Islands from the table: your products, their jobs, his rural and seafaring memory, and a gastronomic culture capable of combining tradition and innovation. In that sense, The menu becomes a letter of introduction to the island's identity and the talent trained in public hospitality schools..

The Minister of Tourism and Employment, Jessica de Leon, He highlighted that Hecansa faces this assignment with “maximum professionalism and enthusiasm.”, as it is a historical responsibility and an opportunity to value the quality of Canarian products, the work of its professionals and the training that students receive in public company centers. De León also stressed that Hecansa's participation in a visit of this relevance reflects values ​​such as excellence, the hospitality and good work of the tourist and gastronomic sector of the islands.

For your part, the CEO of Hecansa, Paola Plasencia, He thanked the staff for their involvement from the first moment and pointed out that this assignment confirms the trust placed in the work that the entity carries out daily.. Plasencia recalled that Hecansa centers not only train future professionals, but they are also used to organizing events, which makes this occasion a highly demanding challenge and, at the same time, an opportunity to demonstrate the team's ability.

The menus being finalized for the papal visit will incorporate some of the most recognizable products from the Canarian pantry. Among them are cheeses from the Archipelago, black potatoes, watercress cream, black pig, remember, traditional pastry, locally produced oils, seasonal fruits—with a special presence of the El Hierro pineapple—and coffee grown on the islands.

The proposal will allow the Holy Father and his entourage to bring a sample of the gastronomic wealth of the Canary Islands from a sober perspective., careful and representative. A welcoming kitchen, made with local products and served by those who embody an essential part of the present and future of the Canarian hospitality industry.