Councillor Carlos Álamo highlighted the commitment made by the Cabildo to promote local products, boost the gastronomic industry with benefits for the primary sector and thereby increase tourism revenue in Gran Canaria.
Gran Canaria cuisine lands this week at Madrid Fusión, the most important gastronomy fair in Spain and one of the most important in Europe, and it does so with its head held high, at a historic moment in the recognition of clients and experts, as well as those responsible for the highest awards in this industry. And it does so with a winning proposal based on three pillars: a cast of great cooking professionals, all of them award-winning and trained in the best kitchens in Europe, as well as committed to the island product; the unique identity of quality ingredients that are presented as different, due to their volcanic, trade wind and Atlantic components; and finally, a modern culinary proposal that is as daring as it is, until now, unknown to the national customer.
“Gran Canarian gastronomy has never enjoyed such prestige as it does now. In fact, it has become one of the elements that is growing the most among the motivations of tourist clients and is one of the main elements in the growth of tourist revenue on the island, especially in our non-tourist municipalities, something that has increased by around 40% in the last five years,” said Carlos Álamo, Councillor for Tourism of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, responsible for the commitment and promotion of island gastronomy in Madrid Fusión, together with the Chamber of Commerce.
“This is the eighth consecutive year that Gran Canaria has participated in this fair and the evolution of Gran Canarian cuisine is remarkable, to the point of positioning itself as one of the most innovative and fastest growing cuisines in Spain, with menus as extensive as they are varied, where the professionalism, the good hand of our chefs, and their process of research and search and a clear commitment to the value and identity of our kilometer zero product can be appreciated, in addition to the international and multicultural influence typical of a territory like ours. The combination of all this has given us a cuisine with its own identity, which is even revolutionizing the motivations that tourists find when deciding where to go on vacation.”
And the Gran Canaria proposal has highlighted its own 'revolution' in gastronomy. This Monday, January 27, the first day of Madrid Fusión started, in which Gran Canaria participates with a representation of the 'revolutionaries' of its gastronomy. Thus, chefs and sommeliers have been showing their different proposals: both salty, sweet and liquid, fruit of the evolution of the sector and that can be found today on the island. "This edition is the consolidation of Gran Canaria in the national gastronomic panorama. We have come with a representation of the many good things that there are on the island, both in professionals and in kilometer zero products, to claim the prominence that our gastronomy deserves, which has evolved a lot and which today is the summary of our history," says Carlos Álamo, Councilor for Tourism of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria.
The restaurants Poemas by Hermanos Padrón, Los Guayres, Muxgo, Maraca and El Zarcillo, accompanied by sommeliers Patricia Yrisarri, Diego Tornel, Alba Bernal and Rafael Hurtado were the first to showcase the gastronomy that the island offers.
Borja Marrero, chef of the Muxgo restaurant (1 Michelin Star and 1 Michelin Green Star) is once again participating with Gran Canaria in a new edition of Madrid Fusión, presenting a salted cow curd with pine bark sauce bound with goat butter and two dishes from the new season's menu. "For us it is a pleasure to share the experience with the other colleagues from the island who do things so well and who all have the premise of defending our territory and showing it to the world because we have a gastronomy that has to be visited," said Marrero.
Thus, over the three days of Madrid Fusión, professionals from the island will carry out around thirty cooking demonstrations, liquid harmonies, tastings and presentations. “Since the congress is about revolution, my proposal has been based on showing wines from Gran Canaria that are not so well known; so much so that some have not been bottled to bring here, such as the wines from Adal, whose vineyards have views of the Maspalomas Dunes. So, for me it is a privilege to participate in this congress,” explains sommelier Alba Bernal.
For his part, Eugenio Sánchez, president of the Domestic Trade Commission of the Chamber of Commerce of Gran Canaria, points out that “it is a pleasure to participate in the congress with the support of Turismo de Gran Canaria, where this first day has been fabulous, with a large turnout of public, and in which we are demonstrating the great gastronomy that our island has.”
Three days of gastronomy in pavilion 14 of Ifema
The presentations will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Gran Canaria stand at Madrid Fusión, with the help of the restaurants Tabaiba, La Aquarela, Casa Romántica, Morro Colorao, La Catedral Bistró, Palmera Sur, Berro Bistró and Sábor. 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), Jessica Jorge, Borja Suárez (Sábor) and Alba Bernal.
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).
