A 'king' of fishes in the heart of Malaga

It is possible that at some time in the past, an enormous bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), caught in the Mediterranean, was carried through the narrow streets of a Muslim Malaga to a market as the flesh of this fish has always been prized in the Mediterranean. The tuna fishing industry was a source of work for many along the coast during the annual migrations of the fish in spring and at the end of the summer.

Few traces of the ancient fishing industry remain on the Malaga coast but the historical connection is still in existence as hundreds of amazed tourists and a number of journalists discovered recently. At approximately 1pm on 10 May, a bluefin tuna weighing almost 350 kilos was gutted and filleted on the terrace of the El Pimpi bar in Calle Alcazabilla, Malaga.

This 'ronqueo' as it is called in Spanish, was the inaugural event for the 2nd Jornadas del Atún El Pimpi y La Sole which, with the collaboration of the Román y Martos company and brewery Cerveza Victoria, will offer various events until Sunday 20 May.

A special menu was prepared by El Pimpi's chef Andrés Romero and La Sole's chef, Juanjo Perles for a dinner at the Cerveza Victoria brewery yesterday and various experts helped to give the guests a complete history of tuna fishing and gastronomy of the region.

The supplier of the tuna was the Román y Martos company, the only business in the province that has its own boat for bluefin tuna fishing and the means to prepare the fish properly. Lorenzo Monio, responsible for marketing the company's bluefin tuna explained, we take care of every part of the process, from stunning the tuna at the moment of capture to avoid suffering, having cushioned the deck of the boats so it does not get bruised, to staff trained in techniques for the rapid exsanguination and the Japanese ikejime method that is used to immediately annul nervous reflexes and guarantee that the meat is of the best quality.

An experienced team of ronqueadores deals with the filleting. Ronqueadores that last Thursday took no more than 15 minutes to divide up the giant fish.

Until Sunday, besides the usual menu, El Pimpi and El Sole will be offering a wide variety of tuna dishes inspired by the orient such as Japanese tuna tataki and chirasi tartare with tuna, ginger and spring onion as well as tuna prepared in more traditional ways.