The one hundred talents defending the future of world gastronomy
Madrid, May 5 (EFE) .- Root cuisine passed through the sieve of techniques acquired in great restaurants in the world, local and seasonal products, mergers resulting from migratory movements ... It is the panorama that young talents draw of world cuisine, which extends its focus beyond Europe and America and which includes "Today's Special".
If in 2009 Phaidon launched "Coco", in which renowned chefs of the time such as Ferran Adriá, Alain Ducasse or René Redzepi pointed out the emerging culinary talent, today there are some of those chosen, already successful figures, who put the track on new protagonists in "Today's Special", from the same publisher.
In a present day marked by the pandemic, they make up a "resilient and passionate community of 100 chefs" from all continents, with new focuses for gastrotourists such as those of Michael Elégbèdé, from Ìtàn Test Kitchen (Lagos, Nigeria); the voice of the Maori cuisine of Monique Fiso in Hiakai (New Zealand), Dieuveil Malonga (Meza Malonga, Kigali), promoter of local talent with Chefs in Africa or Prateek Sadhu (Masque Mumbai, India).
Also in Latin America, beyond the Mexico-Peru axis that has dominated the region, new gastronomic destinations are emerging with restaurants such as Celele (Cartagena, Colombia), in which Sebastián Pinzón Giraldo and Jaime Rodríguez Camacho explore the vibrant cuisine of the Colombian Caribbean; the sisters Silvana and Mariana Villegas (Masa, Bogotá) or Manoella Buffara, from Manu (Curitiba, Brazil), known for her environmental commitment.
The only Spaniard chosen to nominate the new culinary talents is the Asturian based in the US José Andrés, also known for his solidarity work with the NGO World Central Kitchen.
Bet on Carlota Claver, from La Gormanda (Barcelona), who she says "is redefining Catalan cuisine" with dishes such as roasted pumpkin with pine nut carbonara, octopus or artichoke bomb and black sausage, and for Dulce Martínez (El Molín de Mingo, Asturias) for delving into Asturian roots with dishes such as arroz con pitu, tortillas and verdinas with cod.
Also for the legacy of the great Spanish chefs of creativity, expressed in disciples such as Víctor Moreno, from Moreno (Caracas) and Aitor Zabala (Somni, California).
Another Spanish, this time chosen by the French based in the United States Dominique Crenn is Macarena de Castro, from the homonymous restaurant in Mallorca (Balearic Islands), for being a "modern pioneer of Balearic cuisine" and her work with local producers, transformed into dishes such as bean leaves with marrow and espardeña. "He has created a living legacy," highlights his mentor.
Juan José Marqués Garrido (Maran, Girona), raised between Aragon and Andalusia and trained in restaurants such as El Celler de Can Roca, is one of those chosen by Raquel Carena -Argentine cook established in France with Le Baratin- for "his mastery in cooking Catalan and her knowledge of the Andalusian tradition ".
For her, her work with seasonal and local products, and her handling of Andalusian stir-fries and soups make her worthy of appearing in this volume.
Carena also chooses Amaiur Martínez Ortuzar, third generation in charge of Ganbara (San Sebastián, north), popular both for its pintxos and for its few and coveted tables in which to enjoy its handling of mushrooms, vegetables, foie, fish and meat.
There are chefs who are the children and grandchildren of emigrants who combine the backpack from the pantry of their ancestors with the one acquired in their birthplace and the contemporary techniques learned on their pilgrimage to the best restaurants in the world, as well as a general concern for the product. location, seasonality, ingredient traceability and concern for the planet.
Danielle Álvarez, daughter of Cuban immigrants raised in Florida (USA) is in charge of Fred's (Sydney, Australia), where she "makes the seasonal product shine" and applies Cuban hospitality; Norma Listman and Saqib Keval merge Mexican and Indian cuisines in Masala y Maíz (Mexico City) and Venezuelans Juan Luis Martínez and José Luis Saume, from Mérito (Lima), mix the cookbook of their native country with that of their country of adoption.
Carla Pérez-Gallardo, of Ecuadorian and Argentine roots, has teamed up with Hannah Black, raised in Alabama (USA), to set up Lil'Deb's Oasis in New York, which provides an extra that extends the first protest movement of women in the cooking to reach the 'queer' community. They claim the need to address social inequalities in the world of food.
Appealing to authenticity is another trend in current cuisine, as Diana Dávila does in Mi tocaya antojería (Chicago, USA), who seeks to change "the myopic conception" about Mexican cuisine outside of Mexico, or Luis Arellano, who in Criollo ( Oaxaca, Mexico), fights to preserve the integrity of the gastronomy of his country with dishes such as tlayuda with chorizo and quelites or the chocolate and banana tamale.
There are many more names, up to a hundred, to hope for the future in the form of multiple styles of cuisine, fusion and roots, product and technique, environmental and social awareness, no matter how punished the sector is for the pandemic.
Pilar Salas
