This will be the eighth consecutive year that the island participates in the gastronomic congress
Around thirty professionals will carry out cooking demonstrations, tastings and presentations in a renovated 60-square-metre stand.
January is here and the most outstanding gastronomic destinations, professionals and products will meet at Madrid Fusión from 27 to 29 January, which Gran Canaria has not missed for 8 editions.
This year, the gastronomic congress is entitled “Revolutionaries”, a nod to the explosion of Spanish cuisine 30 years ago. And in this framework, Gran Canaria will show its own gastronomic revolution, which it has experienced over the last decade, led by professionals and local products from the island. “We are very happy with the evolution of Gran Canaria gastronomy and its level is reflected in the presentation we make at the congress, where we attend with many professionals from the kitchen, the dining room and our kilometer zero products; a very valuable product that is increasingly recognized and that for Turismo de Gran Canaria is something to continue promoting”, explains Carlos Álamo, Councilor for Tourism of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria.
15 kitchen professionals, 8 dining room professionals and 3 product experts will carry out different cooking demonstrations, liquid harmonies, tastings and presentations. The participating restaurants are those recognised with 1 Michelin Star (Tabaiba, La Aquarela, Los Guayres Poemas by Hermanos Padrón and Muxgo – which also has 1 Green Michelin Star) and other establishments with a recognised track record or which are standing out among the island's gastronomic offering: El Zarcillo, Maraca, Palmera Sur, Borneo, Casa Romántica, Catedral Bistró, Sábor, Morro Colorao and Berro Bistrot.
“This is the first time I have participated in Madrid Fusion. My restaurant has only been open for 5 and a half months and I am super excited to participate in such an important congress. We mainly make vegetable-based cuisine and work with products from the island, so our proposal will be in this line, also using a cheese from Gran Canaria,” explains Francesca Hunt, chef of the Berro Bistró restaurant, located in the Guanarteme area, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The sommeliers in charge of creating liquid harmonies for the dishes, with wines from the Gran Canaria Designation of Origin, will be Nikola Iviic (La Aquarela), Diego Tornel (Meliá Paradisus), Patricia Yrisarri (Vinófilos), Chaxiraxi Triana (Canarywine), Rafael Hurtado (Poems by the Padrón Brothers), Lavinia Cardoso (Ribera of the Miño River), Borja Suárez (Sábor) and Alba Bernal.
“We are looking forward to returning to Madrid Fusión to support Gran Canaria and show the proposal we have at the restaurant, through a dish where the onion from the north of the island is the protagonist and we are going to pair it with the wines from the Tamerán winery. Specifically, we have chosen a white baboso, which is one of the most unique wines from the winery,” says Rafael Hurtado, head waiter and sommelier at the Poemas by Hermanos Padrón restaurant, located in the Santa Catalina Royal Hideaway hotel, for whom this will be the third year he has attended the congress, “happy to see that Canarian wines are in fashion, thanks to the work of young producers and winemakers who have known how to value and highlight the typicality of our wines and, in addition, the expert palate that currently tastes them, we should feel proud because that differentiates and values it.”
For their part, those in charge of defending local products and some of the gastrotourism experiences that the island offers, through tastings and presentations, are Isidoro Jiménez (cheeses), Víctor Lugo (coffee) and Óscar Lafuente (rum and spirits).
In this way, with the support of the Chamber of Commerce of Gran Canaria, the island will display the richness of its gastronomy in a renovated 60-square-metre stand located in Hall 14 of Ifema Feria de Madrid, where a personalised and direct experience will be offered to the specialised public. The presenter Cathaysa González will accompany the professionals who will pass through the large open kitchen of this stand.
