Móstoles Desarrollo sets a four-year catering budget ceiling of €880,000 for events. The framework covers sushi, jamón with live carving, and other gourmet stations. The opposition questions the public benefit of this spending.
The public company Móstoles Desarrollo has established a maximum budget of €880,000 over four years for catering services at municipal events, sparking debate over the use of public funds. The framework agreement, recently published, allows the company to order high-end food stations—such as sushi prepared on-site and jamón ibérico carved live by a professional—without committing to spend the full amount. Instead, only services actually requested and delivered will be paid for, according to municipal sources.
Under the terms of the agreement, the catering options include a jamón station with a minimum eight-kilo piece of 50% ibérico acorn-fed ham, served by a specialist carver, complete with professional equipment and presentation. The first jamón with carving service is capped at €800 (excluding VAT), with additional pieces at €600 each. Sushi stations, prepared live by a sushiman, are priced up to €17 per person, requiring at least four varieties and three types, such as uramaki, nigiri, and temaki, with appropriate Japanese-inspired presentation. Other stations offer ibéricos and cheeses at €13 per person, and a dessert corner at €8, each with specific minimums for variety and quality.
The catering contract is divided into four lots: breakfasts and brunches, appetizers and cocktails, seated lunches and dinners, and the gourmet stations. The largest share of the budget is reserved for appetizers and cocktails (€352,000), followed by lunches and dinners (€220,000), breakfasts and brunches (€176,000), and the gourmet stations (€132,000). Companies can bid for one or all lots, and the final expenditure will depend on the actual services ordered during the contract period. In 2024 and 2025, Móstoles Desarrollo spent around €20,000 per year on catering, according to the city council.
The opposition PSOE has criticized the contract, arguing that it does not align with the public company's mission to promote local economic development. Alejandro Martín, the party's local secretary general, claims the focus on event catering does little for local commerce or hospitality and accuses the municipal government of prioritizing events over substantive economic initiatives. The criticism follows the rejection of Móstoles Desarrollo's 2025 accounts, which reportedly showed losses exceeding €224,000.
Interested catering companies have until 14 September to submit bids. Price will account for 40% of the evaluation, with the remainder split between objective criteria and value judgments. For the gourmet stations, bidders can earn extra points by offering greater variety, higher quality, or operational improvements. The city council maintains that the framework agreement is designed to control spending by setting maximum unit prices and only paying for services actually rendered.
Móstoles, located in the Community of Madrid, is one of Spain's largest municipalities and frequently hosts institutional, business, and training events. The use of framework agreements for public procurement is common in Spain, allowing administrations to streamline contracting while maintaining budgetary control. However, such agreements can attract scrutiny when they involve high-end or non-essential services, especially in the context of public sector deficits or political disagreement over spending priorities.
