Dalai Valdespartera retains the title of champion in the VIII Croquette Competition of Zaragoza and province

In addition, Ángel Marco's establishment won the Aldelís special prize; Arga won the Frutas Javier Mené special prize; Los Cántaros won the prize for the best croquette made with Ternasco de Aragón IGP (Protected Geographical Indication); Sophia won again in the Jamón de Teruel DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) category; Kentya won the best croquette made with Aragonese ingredients; Envero won the best innovative croquette; El Truco won again for the best croquette suitable for celiacs; and the best pairings were those of San Siro with Ambar Beers and La Cava with wines from Bodegas Aragonesas (Aragonese Wineries).

Dalai Valdespartera wins again for the second year in a row the Grand Final of the 8th Croquette Competition of Zaragoza and Province organized by El Gastrónomo Zaragozano, with its croquette “The Child Eater”, made with free-range chicken, Fuentes de Ebro PDO onions and Ambar Oro, suitable for celiacs, which has also won the award for the best croquette made with chicken or turkey meat, Aldelís special prize.

Angel Marco, owner of Dalai Valdespartera, assured that they were carrying «I worked all year to achieve it., It's a very hard effort, but it's rewarded, especially when clients tell you that you've improved. We renewed the title, but we take into account that Any finalist could have won, because there's a very high level of competition.. I thank El Gastrónomo Zaragozano for organizing these events, which are so beneficial for the hospitality industry.

In addition, the special prize Fruits Javier Mené fell back into Arga, The Cantaros Inn won the award for best croquette Ternasco de Aragón IGP, Sophia retained the title of best croquette of Teruel Ham PDO, Kentya It won the award for best croquette made with Food from Aragon, the best croquette innovative was the one Veraison and The Trick It won the award for best croquette again. Suitable for celiacs. The best wine pairings from Aragonese wineries and with Amber beers, respectively, were those of La Cava and San Siro.

From left to right and top to bottom: croquettes from ArGa, Los Cántaros; Sophia, Kentya, El Truco, Envero, La Cava and San Siro / Cristina Martínez – ALMOZARA AGENCY

This was the decision made after the celebration of the Grand Final of the 8th Croquette Competition of Zaragoza and province yesterday at the hotel complex Aura, a jury made up of 16 professionals including sponsors, collaborators, representatives of sector associations and gastronomic communicators.

These were: Angel Campo, from Amber; Fernando Cura, from Aragonese Wineries; Guillermo Navas, from Aldelís; María José Forga, from Aragon Foods; Juan Miranda, from Makro Zaragoza; Miguel Ángel Lacámara, from the Sierra del Moncayo PDO Olive Oil; Alejandro Ortega; from Enjoy Zaragoza; José María Marteles, from the Association of Cafes and Bars; Pepe Puyuelo, from the Association of Sommeliers of Aragon;  Miguel Ángel Almodóvar, gastronomic popularizer; Rafael García, manager of the La Olivera de Magallón olive mill; María Luisa del Amo, a journalist specializing in gastronomy; Manuela Delgado, creator of the project “The curious case of the croquette bias”; Julian Cidraque, head of Quesos La Pardina and academic at the Aragonesa de Gastronomía; Lorenzo Rio, journalist and broadcaster for Aragón Radio and Javier Mené, Javier Mené, responsible for Fruits and Vegetables.

They valued the flavor, texture and cooking point of the dough; in the finished croquette, its presentation, texture, cooking point and flavor; the harmony in pairing good with beers Amber or with wines from Aragonese Wineries, if it had one, and finally, the defense and explanations of each croquette by its creators, highlighting «a high culinary level in the offerings and significant effort that the establishments have done to differentiate, "not only for the flavor and texture, but also for the spectacular presentations.".

After the presentation and defense of the croquettes before the professional jury and during the vote count, the public was able to verify the quality of the finalist proposals paired with the wines, beers and vermouths of the sponsors and collaborators together with hoteliers, sponsors, journalists and prescribers, in what once again became a great party of the hospitality sector.

Awards ceremony

Miguel Ángel Vicente, director of The Zaragozan Gastronome and host of the event, highlighted the technique and creativity of the finalist croquettes, stating that «Reaching the final is already a prize»"and thanked all the participants who contribute to improving the quality of Zaragoza's gastronomic offerings, before calling on Miguel Ángel Lacámara so that he could present the award for the best croquette Suitable for celiacs at El Truco for its croquette of “Teruel PDO ham with pistachio”. 

Both the finalists and the winners of the special awards and each category received a Muel ceramic plate accreditation and a bottle of Caius Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Angel Campo, representing Cervezas Ambar, presented the award to pairing with Amber Beers to the combination of San Siro “Solid Beer” with Amber 125.

Fernando Cura, Bodegas Aragonesas, for its part, delivered to The Wine Cellar the prize valued at 1000 euros, consisting of 25 boxes of wine from the Campo de Borja PDO winery, for its pairing of “"La Chilindrona" with Garnacha Centenaria.

In addition, Javier Mené, head of Javier Mené Fruits, awarded its special prize, valued at 500 euros in product to ArGa, for its croquette «ARGA-style ratatouille«, made with fresh cow's milk, butter, Bajo Aragón PDO oil, green and red pepper, Fuentes de Ebro PDO onion, garlic, eggplant, zucchini, tomato, Provençal herbs and tomato powder. 

Guillermo Navas, of Food Service Aldelís, granted to Dalai Valdespartera a check valued at 500 in product for his “Child-eater”", of Free-range chicken with Fuentes de Ebro PDO onions and Amber Gold.

Patricio Pérez, The secretary of the CRIGP Ternasco de Aragón presented the award for the best croquette. Ternasco de Aragón IGP, valued at 500 euros worth of goods, to Mesón Los Cántaros for its «"Ternasqueta", an original trompe l'oeil of Ternasco de Aragón IGP, milk infused with ternasco and a panko coating. 

Ricardo Mosteo, The president of the Teruel Ham PDO Council presented the award for the best croquette. Teruel Ham PDO, one more year, to Sophia, for her “Sophia's Croquette”, a benchmark in the Zaragoza hospitality scene.

The award for the best croquette made with Aragonese ingredients was presented by Miguel Ángel Lacámara to Kentya for its «Croquemuuuu«", of oxtail stewed with Garnacha Centenaria red wine, Portobello mushroom, foie gras and caramelized Fuentes de Ebro PDO onion. 

Manuela Delgado, The science communicator and expert in artificial intelligence was chosen to give the award for the best croquette innovative to Veraison, another regular in the finals, for his “Cod croquette in pil-pil sauce”, accompanied by a reduction of carabineros coral and lime and honey gel.

Finally, the editor of El Gastrónomo Zaragozano called all the winners of different prizes together to reveal, in front of everyone, who had accumulated the most points and therefore became the brand-new winner of the prize for the best croquette in the province of Zaragoza 2026. The team of Dalai Valdespartera, Already very excited by the previous award, he burst with joy and went up on stage, amid applause, to receive it from the sales manager of Makro Zaragoza, Juan Miranda, the absolute prize for the Best Croquette of Zaragoza and province 2026, consisting of a check for 500 euros in purchases at Makro.

The 8th Croquette Competition of Zaragoza and province is organized by The Zaragozan Gastronome, produced by Almozara Agency, is sponsored by Aragon Taste of Truth, Aragonese Wineries, PGI Ternasco de Aragón, PDO Jamón de Teruel, Aldelís, Makro Zaragoza and Ambar; the collaboration of Fruits and Vegetables Javier Mené, La Olivera de Magallón, Caius, DOP Sierra del Moncayo Olive Oil and Valdepablo Vermouth and Go Aragón, Enjoy Zaragoza, The Good Life in Zaragoza and Gastronomic Map of Zaragoza as media partners.