Service and kitchen uniform
Chef jackets, bistro-style aprons and kitchen caps with the restaurant mark, in cotton-polyester blends that survive industrial washing between services.
International gastronomy congress · Kursaal, Donostia–San Sebastián, Spain
Merch for Mexican chefs and brands at San Sebastián Gastronomika
For chefs, restaurants, food brands, producers and Mexican operators at the congress — service uniforms, aprons, team tees, press kits and relationship gifts delivered to the Kursaal Zurriola or to the official congress hotel.
Planning merch for Mexican teams at San Sebastián Gastronomika
- Venue
- Kursaal Conference Center and Auditorium, Zurriola Hiribidea 1, 20002 Donostia–San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa), Spain
- Schedule
- October, typically three to four days running 10:00 to 20:00 (10:00 to 18:00 on the last day)
- Currency and invoicing
- MXN, CFDI 4.0 with payment complement; Carta Porte 3.0 for the Mexico–Spain freight leg
San Sebastián Gastronomika is one of the most influential haute cuisine congresses in the world, and the Kursaal in Donostia fills every October with chefs, critics, sommeliers and producers presenting their projects and tasting what is being cooked elsewhere. For a Mexican delegation — be it a Michelin-starred restaurant invited to speak, a mezcal or chilli brand running a tasting, a cacao or vanilla producer looking for European distributors, or a gastronomy-promotion office accompanying a chef delegation — the congress demands functional merch: chefs need comfortable uniforms for the demos and services, brands need press kits and tasting pieces that travel well, and the team needs pieces that hold up through three consecutive days on a packed congress floor.
The merch programme for a typical Mexican delegation splits into four allocations. The first is the service uniform: chef jackets, bistro-style aprons with the restaurant mark, bandanas and kitchen caps, sized for the demos and live services staged at the Kursaal over the three days. We work with cotton-polyester blends that survive industrial washing between services, and high-density embroidery that does not fade after the first dry-cleaning cycle. This line is usually delivered to the Mexican restaurant before the trip so the chef breaks it in at home and arrives at the congress with the right size, not a guess.
The second allocation covers floor and public-attention staff: tees and guayabera-style shirts with the brand or organization mark, sized for the team working the stand, pouring the tastings and accompanying the chefs during the talks. The floor line is the most photographed on social media, so sizing and comfort matter as much as branding: a poorly sized tee ruins the composition of the group photo that ends up circulating as a calling card.
The third allocation covers press and relationships: press kits with the restaurant or product dossier, technical sheets (tasting notes, pairings, ingredients) and curated items for European critics, editors of specialized publications and allied chefs. This allocation is smaller in quantity but high in curation: a well-assembled box for the editor of a Spanish or French publication turns into a review the next season. We work with rigid cardboard boxes with magnetic closure and FSC-certified cotton paper for the dossiers.
The fourth allocation covers tastings and activations: tees, aprons and reusable bags with the Mexican brand mark given away or raffled at the public tastings, plus commemorative pieces for the VIP attendees of the Basque Culinary Center. This line moves fast and usually needs daily replenishment, especially during the afternoon sessions when the congress floor fills with sector professionals.
Mexican delegations crossing the Atlantic for Gastronomika typically invoice the entire order from Mexico under a definitive export scheme, with a customs agent filing the pedimento key before shipping and Carta Porte 3.0 covering the international freight leg. If the team prefers to split pieces out of CDMX via an international courier and the rest as the lead chef's checked baggage, we issue a separate CFDI per leg so each batch closes clean and the domestic 16% IVA line stays isolated for your finance team.
Recommended merch mix for San Sebastián Gastronomika
Floor and attention uniform
Tees and guayabera-style shirts with the brand or organization mark, sized for the team working the stand, pouring the tastings and accompanying the chefs.
Press kits and dossiers
Restaurant or product dossiers, pairings and tasting sheets delivered to European critics, specialized publication editors and allied chefs of the Basque Culinary Center.
Relationship gifts and tastings
Curated boxes for critics and allied chefs, plus activation pieces (reusable bags, aprons, tees) for attendees of the public tastings during the three days.
Production and congress logistics
Before kicking off production, confirm quantities per allocation, congress dates and the named consignee at the Kursaal Zurriola or at the official hotel. For material travelling with the delegation, each piece must be packed in checked baggage with a packing list that clears customs without being opened; the rest ships consolidated with Carta Porte 3.0. The Kursaal should not be treated as an open parcel-delivery address, and a named concierge at the official hotel is usually the best option for receiving sensitive material outside congress hours.
Planning timeline
- 10–12 weeks: lock the chef, press and distributor lists; quantities per allocation with clear differentiation between service uniform, floor uniform and relationship gifts.
- 6–8 weeks: approve the physical apron sample, the dossier colour proof and the chef jacket textile sample.
- 3–5 weeks: finish textile production, embroidery, dossier printing and VIP box assembly, with CFDI 4.0 and Carta Porte 3.0 ready for shipment.
- Congress week: the chef's material travels as checked baggage; dossiers and gifts arrive consolidated at the hotel or at the Kursaal with the named concierge.
Frequently asked questions
When should a Mexican delegation raise the order for Gastronomika?
Ten to twelve weeks is the safe window when the allocation runs from CDMX and the material crosses to Europe. Shorter programmes are only possible after confirming in writing textile plant capacity, available embroidery batch and customs permits.
Is the material delivered directly to the Kursaal in Donostia?
Yes, when the congress organization or the logistics operator confirms the loading slot, the platform window and the named consignee. Most Mexican delegations split the shipment between the Kursaal platform and a named concierge at their official hotel, especially for material arriving before set-up.
Can you separate the service uniform from the tasting material for tax purposes?
Yes. We split the batches from the brief: the service uniform and the press kits are documented as a export with Carta Porte 3.0; the tasting material is documented as promotional without VAT charged. The 16% IVA line applies only to the domestic component and stays clean for your finance team.
Is Corp-Merch a partner or official supplier of San Sebastián Gastronomika?
No. Corp-Merch is an independent external supplier that helps Mexican chefs, restaurants and brands prepare the merch for their participation in the congress. It does not represent the organizing committee or the Basque Culinary Center.
Corp-Merch is an independent external supplier for chefs, restaurants and participating brands. This page helps Mexican teams prepare the merch for their participation in San Sebastián Gastronomika; it does not represent the organizing committee or the Basque Culinary Center.