Savour The Flavour: Estepona’s Iberian Ham Festival Returns This Month

ESTEPONA will be transformed into a ham connoisseur’s paradise from Tuesday, August 8 until Tuesday, August 15, as the Certamen Mundial de Jamón ‘Popi’ Iberian ham festival arrives.

This Iberian ham fair brings the best ham on the peninsula to the town for a week of demonstrations, cookery workshops and musical performances.

The “Popi” Ham Fair was the brainchild of José María Téllez, ‘Popi’, a renowned ham carver who dreamed of putting Estepona, and the underappreciated art of ham carving, on the global culinary map.

During the fair, Estepona’s seafront comes alive with delicious aromas as tasting tents and stands share their wisdom on production techniques while guests sample hams that showcase the entire spectrum of Iberico flavours.

Organisers recently announced that this year’s event will feature more than one kilometre of stalls. The event returns after more than 500,000 visitors attended the Iberian ham festival last year.

During the festival, more than 50 Iberian ham businesses from across Spain set up shop, offering tastes of their region’s finest serrano and iberico hams. You’ll find prize-winning Iberian hams from family businesses aged to perfection alongside mass produced supermarket varieties.

Sampling plates at the fair cost as little as €5, featuring a variety of hams with delicious ingredient pairings.

The aromas of dozens of Iberian hams fill the air as visitors discuss regional differences, trade tasting tips and delight in a culinary tradition dating back to Roman times.

What sets Estepona’s Iberian ham fair apart is the exciting line-up of musical acts. The live music transforms the promenade into a street party, perfect for washing down bites of Iberian ham heaven with a cold beer.

This year’s fair will see traditional and modern Spanish musical performances by artists including Joana Jiménez and Nayeli, La Guardia and Compás Flamenco.

Further details about the Iberian ham festival, including a programme will be available shortly from Estepona council’s website.