The fourth event of the 2015 Benidorm gastronomy calendar begins this Saturday, 27 June until Sunday 5 July. The town is building an enviable reputation as a hub for gourmet lovers and each year more competitions and fixtures are added. The week long event, ¨Muestra de Trampantojo” was previewed at the Tourist Information Centre this morning – with the twelve participating restaurants bringing along samples of their entries. Loosely translated it means “Visual Illusion” – tricking your eye to think you are eating something else.

A good example was the entry by “Restaurant Oh Solomillo” – what looked like a crystallized baby carrot with top was in fact smoked salmon wrapped around fresh salmon with a dill stalk or “Restaurant Sideria Aurrera” which had pureed broad beans that looked like Crème Catalan.

The chef’s objective when creating the dishes was to surprise the palate into expecting something totally different from what the eye thinks.

Benidorm Mayor Toni Pérez – who is also the Councillor for Tourism, congratulated all the participating restaurants and said that “the promotion of gastronomy will remain a priority” for the new administration.

Each of the creative surprises will be incorporated into a three course menu, which will all be offered for a set price of €25, which is the UK equivalent of 18 GBP – wine is included in some of the restaurants. A colour booklet, which includes the menus, is available at the Tourist Information office – and also has a map at the back to show you the location of each restaurant. So if you want to confuse your mind with a culinary surprise, head up to the Old Town next week.