Girona's restaurant El Celler de Can Roca awarded as best restaurant in the world

[caption id="attachment_2919" align="aligncenter" width="283"] Jordi, Joan and Josep Roca, World's Best Restaurant in 2013 (image from El Celler de Can Roca website)[/caption]

After two consecutive years in the #2 position, as Girona residents we are proud to share the news that the local restaurant El Celler de Can Roca has achieved the top position in the 2013 edition of the competition The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, organized by the British food magazine Restaurant and sponsored by San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. Congratulations for such an outstanding achievement!

Here's a sample of the pictures of our visit to the restaurant in July 2011.

[caption id="attachment_2157" align="aligncenter" width="300"] El Celler de Can Roca[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2160" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Josep Roca displaying his wine sanctuary in El Celler de Can Roca[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2158" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Sampling the dishes of El Celler de Can Roca[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2159" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Sampling the dishes of El Celler de Can Roca[/caption]

 

El Celler de Can Roca
Can Sunyer 48
17007 Girona
Phone number: +34 972 22 21 57
E-mail: restaurant@cellercanroca.com


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Novel on the adoption of Chinese children presented in Barcelona

From http://www.jrarmadas.com/?p=399 (in Catalan) and http://www.casaasia.eu/actividad/detalle?id=210464 (in English)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="576"] La flor de la prunera, by Joan Ramon Armadàs[/caption]

Catalan writer Joan Ramon Armadàs is currently touring Catalonia to present his second book, "La flor de la prunera" (The flower of the plum tree, 梅花), based on the adoption of Chinese children. He has already presented the book in his hometown, Sant Cugat del Vallès, and in Barcelona, and for Tuesday, April 30th, 2013, he is scheduled at 7 pm in Barcelona's Casa Àsia headquarters, where he will take part in a talk entitled "Adoption: A return to Chinese origins" together with Francesc Acero, President of the Association of Adopting Families in China (Associació de Famílies Adoptants a la Xina, AFAC).

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="288"] Joan Ramon Armadàs presenting "La flor de la prunera" with his Chinese-born cousin Maria (image from JR Armadàs website)[/caption]

Most of the children that came to Catalonia from China through a process of adoption are now teenagers or pre-teenagers, the moment in life in which they start to show interest on what it means to be Chinese. The goal of the talk will be to try to explain the importance of finding and getting to know the place where these children spent the first months of their lives. This will be reinforced by the presentation of Joan Ramon Armadàs' book, a novel in which the fictional character Pau Torrens, a young lawyer, travels to China to discover the origins of Mei, his adopted sister.

The event will be presented by Jaume Giné, Secretary General of Casa Àsia, and will take place in the Samarcanda Hall of Casa Àsia headquarters, Diagonal Avenue, 373, Barcelona.  Admission is free until full capacity of the room.

Chinese poetry reading in Girona

April 23rd is Saint George's day, the patron saint of Catalonia. The festivity is called La Diada de Sant Jordi and people of all ages fill the streets to enjoy the Catalan lovers' day and buy books and roses for the beloved ones. Also, dozens of activities are organized in cities and villages, many of them related to Catalan culture.

One of these was organized in Girona by Òmnium Cultural Gironès and it was called "A tota veu" (In full voice). Its goal was to display the linguistic richness existing nowadays in Catalonia and to promote the learning of Catalan language as a tool for social cohesion.  Sinalunya took part in the reading by choosing two ancient Chinese poems and by reading their original version and the translation into Catalan.

The chosen poems were 花非花 ("It's like a flower but not a flower") by 白居易 (Bai Juyi, 772–846) and 劝酒 ("Urging you to drink") by 于武陵 (Yu Wuling). We used the translations into Catalan by professor Manel Ollé, from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, in his book, “Pedra i pinzell” (Stone and brush), with a few changes of our own.

Chinese originals

 花非花 (白居易)

     花非花，雾非雾；

     夜半来，天明去。

     来如春梦几多时?

     去似朝云无觅处。

劝酒 (于武陵)

劝君金屈卮

满酌不须辞。

花发多风雨，

人生足别离。

 

Catalan translation

Flor que no és flor (Bai Juyi)

Flor que no és flor

Boira que no és boira

Ve a mitjanit i se'n va amb l'alba

Arriba com un somni de primavera, però què dura?

Marxa com un núvol matiner que es fon sense rastre

Si us plau, beu! (Yu Wuling)

No refusis que el meu licor

Ompli el teu calze

Igual que les flors aguanten grans pluges i vents

Cap vida és del tot viscuda sense un comiat

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Reading ancient Chinese poetry in Girona (picture by Pere Saló)[/caption]

 

Infographic of Catalan exports of 2012

From http://www.anella.cat/web/portal/eines/-/custom_publisher/6UgO/28471798/Les-exportacions-catalanes-al-2012 (in Catalan)

Despite being in Catalan language, this infographic summarizes exports of Catalan companies in 2012 in a clear and easy to understand way. These are the main data contained in it:

• The countries that receive a higher percentage of Catalan exports are France (17.2%), Germany (11.5%) and Italy (8.1%). China, despite growing an increasing market for Catalan companies, for the moment only represents 1.7%.


• Catalan exports reached their absolute record in 2012, totaling 58 billion € and growing a higher percentage than those of European reference countries such as Germany, France, The Netherlands or Finland.


• If the rest of Spain is included, Catalonia would be the 8th best European exporting country, well above the EU average.


• The sectors that led the growth of exports in 2012 were the food, automobile and machine industries.


• The regions of the world in which Catalan exports grew most in 2012 were Pacific (61.4%), Africa (23.9%), Latin America (20.9%) and Asia (15.5%).


• Based on the total sales, the leading exporting sectors were the chemical industry (25.9%) followed by automobile industry (16.5%) and food industry (11.6%).


• Catalan companies are already exporting more to the rest of the world (54.3%) than in its traditional market, the rest of Spain (45.7%).


• According to the statistics of the 4th trimester, the forecast of the most active markets for the next 12 months are Latin America, North Africa, Middle East, China and India.


• The sectors that offer better opportunities of business are environment and energy, water, food and drinks, chemical and pharmaceutical, biotechnology, urban sustainability and efficient use of resources.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="490"] Infographic of Catalan exports in 2012[/caption]

 

Chinese importers visit Catalan meat processing industries

From http://www.diaridegirona.cat/economia/2013/04/09/importadors-xinesos-visiten-cinc-carnies-comarques-gironines/612030.html (in Catalan)

Eleven of the main Chinese pork meat importers are visiting nine Catalan meat processing industries that are certified to sell pork meat in China -or in the process of being certified- in the framework of a reverse commercial mission organized by the Catalan Federation of Meat Industries (Federació Catalana d'Indústries de la Carn, FECIC). The goal of this commercial action is that Chinese importers could have a direct contact with these Catalan companies through interviews and specific visits to the production centers, in order to end up reaching sales agreements. The Chinese delegation is composed by representatives of two of the main associations in the meat sector, the China Agriculture Wholesale Market Association and the China Meat Association (中国肉类协会).

At the end of 2012 the Catalan Federation of Meat Industries launched its export plan for 2013 aimed at improving the international knowledge of the brand "Catalonia Land of Meat" and to promote the access to new markets. In 2012, meat processing industries located in Girona province increased their exports to China by 41%, with a total sales of 31 million €, being the Spanish province with greater sales in the Asian giant. These sales by companies located in the Girona province represent 50% of the Catalan meat exports and 24% of the total Spanish meat exports. One of the earliest and most active companies in opening new markets in East Asia is Frigorífics Costa Brava, from Riudellots de la Selva, that already in 2008 was one of the first Spanish companies that obtained the certification to sell their products in China.

The Catalan Federation of Meat Industries points out that the internationalization of meat processing companies has turned into a strategic business factor for Catalonia, since their total sales abroad reach 1.4 billion € per year, accounting for 21% of the Catalan industrial GDP and 3.5% of the total Catalan GDP.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Catalan quality meat (Image from the website of FECIC)[/caption]

 

Published booklet about the Chinese shop owners in Barcelona

From http://www.comercnouvinguts.pimec.org/ca/productes/72/colleccio--i-nosaltres-tambe-fem-ciutat-i-/llistat/els-comerciants-xinesos-de-barcelona (in Catalan)

PIMEC, the association grouping the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and also the self-employed workers of Catalonia, has launched a project for the city of Barcelona called "Nosaltres també fem ciutat" ("We also contribute to the city") that has the goal of improving the integration of the foreign shop owners into the city's commercial network. One of the documents that has recently been released is the booklet "Els comerciants xinesos de Barcelona" ("Barcelona's Chinese shop owners"), which emphasizes their entrepreneurial capacity and their hard-working attitude. The document can be downloaded as a pd file from the link http://www.webmini.cat/repositori/documents/productes/ca/webmini-not103-uy19kg.pdf or read it down here in its embedded form.

Conference in Barcelona about the Mediterranean as an opportunity for Asian traffic

From http://bswomenb.blogspot.com.es/2013/04/ciclo-de-conferencias-esade-china.html (in Spanish) and http://www.esade.edu/newsletter/eng/rrpp/130419_red_europea_asia (in English)

On Friday 19th April 2013, from 8.30 am - 10.30 am, the ESADE China Europe Club (Chinese version at ESADE中欧俱乐部) is organizing a conference entitled "The new European transport network. Is the Mediterranean an opportunity for Asian traffic?", in which the speakers will present and discuss this possibility.

The debate at the heart of EU institutions to define and approve the trans-European transport networks of the future (TEN-T) is drawing to a close. The Mediterranean Corridor occupies an essential role in the new TEN-T networks, and its development may be financed by ample European funds. The Mediterranean Corridor is a vital element in promoting southern Europe – the Mediterranean and its ports and logistics zones – as Euro-Mediterranean concentration and distribution platforms.

Mediterranean countries need to make a decision: Do we take the opportunity that Europe is offering us or not? If we decide it is worth taking this opportunity we could become a logistical power equivalent to that of northern Europe’s Rotterdam or Flanders. Additionally, greater supply chain efficiency would allow manufacturers and distributors to be more efficient, more competitive and as a result expand their import and export activities.

In this context, we ponder: Is the Mediterranean an opportunity for Asian traffic? During the conference, we will discuss this decision from the main actors’ point of view: the ports, shipping companies and terminals.

Program

8.30 am Networking coffee break

9.00 am Introduction and welcome address

Ivana Casaburi, ESADE Associate Professor, Department of Marketing Management and Director of the ESADE China Europe Club

Speakers

Santiago Garcia-Milà, President of the Association of European Ports and Deputy Director General of the Barcelona Port Authority

Vicente De Angelis, Deputy Director General of Cosco Iberia S.A.

Jorge Moreno, Commercial Director of TerCat - Hutchison Port Holdings (TBC)

Moderator: Carles Cabrera, Professor in the Department of Operations and Innovation at ESADE and Director General of Institut Cerdà

The language used in the event will be Spanish.

Venue
ESADEFORUM
Av. Pedralbes, 60-62
Barcelona

For further information please contact Fina Planas at (+34) 934 952 064  or +(34) 932 806 162, ext. 2410, E-mail: fina.planas@esade.edu

For registration, please fill the form in ESADE website.

Workshop on the keys to success when investing in China

From http://www.acc10.cat/ACC1O/cat/empresa-ACC1O/activitats/cpn/trobada-abril-2013/seminaris/Xina.jsp (in Catalan)

Since 2007, foreign investments in China have grown by 43% thanks to the dynamism of its economy, that has been consistently growing at a 9% rate during the last 10 years. This growth is attracting more and more companies to China and the goal of this workshop is to help the new ones to have a successful establishment in the Asian giant by learning from the experience of those Catalan companies already working in the Chinese market. This session will also include the presentation of the report "Catalan business investments in China", that was awarded in the VII edition of the ACCID (Catalan Association of Accounting and Direction) Research Prizes.

Program

09:00h: Registration of the attendants

09:15h: Welcome address
Antoni Maria Grau, General Director of Industry, Catalan government

09:20h: Impact of the internationalization in the workforce, the dimension and the success of companies
Oriol Amat, Professor of Financial Economics and Accounting at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Vicepresident of ACCID

09:40h: Analysis of the Catalan business investments in China
Ana Beatriz Hernández-Lara, Department of Business Management, Universitat Rovira i Virgili

10:15h Coffee break

10:35h: Presentation of success stories of Catalan companies in China
Pere Relats, CEO of Relats S.A.
Ramon Ceravalls, Owner of CELO Group
Manel Roure, Director of Foreign Subsidiaries in DOGA S.A.

11:25h: Investing in China and Hong Kong: practical considerations
Gao Wei, Director of the Business Promotion Center of ACC1Ó in Beijing
Madrona Marcet, Director of the Business Promotion Center of ACC1Ó a Hong Kong

12:00h: Financial tools for the internationalization of companies
Sandra Font, gestora de projectes de finançament d’ACC1Ó

12:15h: Open platform for questions

12:30h: End of the workshop

The event will take place on Friday, April 19th, 2013 at the ACC1Ó headquarters, Passeig de Gràcia 129, Barcelona


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Hong Kong's celebration of Sant Jordi festival of 2013

From http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151517147324061 (in Catalan)

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="212"] Sant Jordi 2013 in Hong Kong (Image from the Facebook page of the Federació Internacional d'Entitats Catalanes, FIEC)[/caption]

The Catalan Association of China, founded in year 2005 and with headquarters in Hong Kong, has the double mission to connect the 130 Catalan expats residing in that part of the world and also to promote Catalonia. On April 21st, 2013, at 3 pm, the members of the Catalan Association of China will gather at the Cafe Duvet (Shop 06, Discovery Bay) to celebrate La Diada de Sant Jordi (Saint George’s day, a Catalan holiday that is held every year on April 23rd) and to show it to the local people and the rest of the world.

Dinner with Catalan chef Ferran Adrià sold at Hong Kong auction

From http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/03/dinner-with-famed-spanish_n_3006642.html (in English)

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="212"] Ferran Adrià in the cover of El País Semanal (1999) (Image from elBulli website)[/caption]

The chance to dine with world-famous Catalan chef Ferran Adrià was sold at an auction in Hong Kong for 180,000 HKD (Hong Kong dollars), equivalent to 23,200 US dollars. Ferran Adrià is considered the world's most creative chef and his former restaurant elBulli, managed by him during 27 years and closed since July 2011, was voted 5 times as the best in the world by Restaurant Magazine. The winner of the auction will be able to have the chance to dine with Ferran Adrià and his brother Albert Adrià at a restaurant in Barcelona and visit the premises of the elBulli restaurant, located by the sea in Cala Montjoi, Roses, Catalonia. Another ticket to the dinner will be auctioned off in New York on April 26th, 2013. The benefits of the auction will go to the elBulli Foundation, a project set up by Ferran Adrià and long-time business partner Juli Soler, which will turn the restaurant into an experimental centre looking at the process of culinary innovation and creativity.

Restaurant (magazine)Wikipedia: Restaurant is a British magazine aimed at chefs, restaurant proprietors and other catering professionals that concentrates on the fine dining end of the industry. →