Get to Know Blanca 

Blanca Valencia is a speaker, writer, and event curator specializing in the intersection of food, culture, and storytelling. Born in Spain and raised in Central America, she has lived across the globe—including Chicago, Dalian, Paris, Madrid, Buenos Aires, and London—before settling in Dublin.

Blanca holds a Grand Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu (London) and an MA in Gastronomy from TU Dublin. A Spanish Wine Specialist with WSET 2 certification and an olive oil sommelier, she has helmed the kitchens at Madrid’s El Alambique and London’s Books for Cooks, lectured at the Cervantes Institute (Chicago & Dublin), and staged at the elbulli hotel in Seville.

Blanca explores Spanish food culture in her new substack The Gazpacho Chronicles with essays such as why film director Almodóvar's flans are overcooked or how to create a template to eat and drink in any Spanish city.

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She collaborates with top Spanish wine and food producers, Food and Wines from Spain, the National Gallery of Ireland and the Cervantes Institute, designing events, talks, and culinary experiences. As a consultant, she advises on food-focused projects, branding, and event strategy and has worked with some Spain's top wine regions.

Named one of the Irish Examiner’s 50 New Irish Food Heroes (2023) for her work promoting Spanish cuisine, Blanca’s writing and work has appeared in Scoop, Irish Country Living, the Irish Independent, BBC, NPR Chicago, and more.

She co-hosted the award-winning Spice Bags podcast from 2019 to 2023 with writers Mei Chin and Dee Laffan and co-authored Blasta Books #5 Soup, nominated for Best Irish Cookbook in 2023.

Her work is driven by the idea that food is a bridge between history, art, film, and identity. Her love of art has led her to co-found Art Plate Ireland a collaboration with food and drinks consultant Santina Kennedy that highlights the intersection between food and art by designing events and tours for the National Gallery of Ireland and which has been featured in Taste of Dublin, Samhain Festival and Beyond the Pale.

Photo Credit: Mel Mullan