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It could not be otherwise. In a national competition that seeks the very best version of a dish that is so very Malaga - the soup known as gazpachuelo - victory had to go to a Malaga-based restaurant. So it was at the gazpachuelos championship, sponsored by Sabor a Málaga, which was held on Tuesday this week at the Salón Gourmets in Madrid during the big food and drinks fair. The title of champion and winner went to Eme de Mariano, who competed with three other Malaga chefs and restaurants and two from elsewhere in Spain: Beluga and Almijara Casual Bar from Malaga city and Alma Playa from Rincón de la Victoria, as well as Can Ros Restaurante from Castellón and Marmitón Bistró from Madrid.
In the end, it was Mariano Rodríguez's authenticity that won over the jury. The chef from Malaga has always been clear that simplicity is the key to a good dish. His gazpachuelo follows this mantra to the letter. In fact, at the Salón Gourmets he followed the same recipe that he serves up every week in his restaurant on Calle Císter in Malaga city.
He makes this thick, tasty soup with a fish fumet (a concentrated stock) made from prawn heads, monkfish cheeks and vegetables. In this broth he cooks the potatoes, cut into small chunks, then slowly stirs in the mayonnaise (half sunflower oil, half mild olive oil), which gives the soup its creamy texture. The dish is served with the prawns and those potatoes. This chef has always believed that there should be as little interference as possible with the end product. Furthermore, as gazpachuelo is traditionally known as a "survival dish", made with a few, basic ingredients, he prefers to go for the classic, no-frills recipe, much as he does in his own kitchen.
The contestants had 30 minutes to prepare six identical dishes, with a free choice of ingredients but, as is to be expected, all entries had to have fish stock and mayonnaise at the heart of the dish. Once finished, each participant presented his or her version of this dish, explaining the preparation process, the inspiration behind the recipe and the techniques used.
The judging panel consisted of Sabor a Málaga's director Leonor García-Agua, the chef Martín Berasategui, María José San Román Pérez (CEO of Restaurante Monastrell (Alicante), the journalist Fernando Sánchez Gómez and chef and gastronomic consultant María Jiménez Latorre. This jury scored the participants on the explanation of their dish, the texture of the mayonnaise, the creativity applied, the ingredients used, the aroma and the flavour. The prizes were 2,000 euros for the outright winner, 1,000 euros for the runner-up and 500 euros for third place on the podium.
Until Thursday this week Sabor a Málaga is exhibiting at this international food and drink fair in Madrid - now in its 38th year - with its own stand that includes 41 producers of Malaga's unique products. This is the tenth consecutive year that Malaga's provincial council (Diputación) has had the Sabor brand attending this fair. Malaga companies from 26 municipalities across the province have travelled to Madrid under this banner to exhibit over 600 examples of Malaga products to the 100,000 trade visitors from the food and drink industry and beyond who are expected to attend the fair that brings together 2,100 exhibitors.
Among the Malaga products on display at Madrid's Salón de Gourmets are extra virgin olive oils, PDO (protected designation of origin) Malaga and Sierras de Málaga wines, goat cheeses, sausages and other meat products, subtropical fruits such as avocado and mango, preserved foods such as vegetables and fish, eggs and pickles and also PDO Aloreña de Malaga olives, jams, breads and traditional pastries, spices and food supplements.
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