● Some 200 professionals attended the event that puts the finishing touch to the Gran Canaria Me Gusta fair.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 24 April 2023. Once again this year, the Orígenes Gastronomic Congress brings together professionals from the sector to present and reflect on local gastronomy, tradition and modernity. With a first class line-up, national and Canarian chefs shared their knowledge, experiences and concerns about the product and its preparation. The day began at 10:00 a.m. in the Infecar Conference Centre under the slogan ‘Identity and Mestizaje’, which has been the guiding thread of the sixth edition of an event organised by Gran Canaria Me Gusta, the Chamber of Commerce and Infecar, and which year after year is getting better and better, bringing together some of the most renowned chefs in this sector.

“Origins is part of the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair and is conceived as a space for training, meeting, participation and knowledge of the gastronomy sector in general and of young people in training”, said the president of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, at the opening of the congress.

From Gran Canaria, the chefs Abraham Ortega (Tabaiba restaurant, with 1 Michelin Star and 1 Sol Repsol) and Cristina Monge (Borneo restaurant); as well as Mikel Asiain (222 SW restaurant) and Teresa Moon (El Bento Japonés restaurant), gave a presentation and 4-handed exhibition, in which they explained the Asian cultural influence on the cuisine of Gran Canaria, each from their own vision of gastronomy. Except for the chef from the Tabaiba restaurant, for the other three chefs it was the first time they had participated in this Gastronomic Congress. “We have prepared an emblematic dish of the restaurant, using the horse mackerel as a link between my cuisine and that of 222 SW, thus showing a little of what we do with the wonderful local product that the island has”, says the owner of El Bento Japonés.

The Councillor for Industry, Trade and Crafts of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Minerva Alonso, explained that “this is a very important new edition of Origins, because we are once again highlighting the gastronomy of Gran Canaria, through activities like this one that are based on innovation and a commitment to local produce from the island’s restaurants to link the kitchens and dining rooms of the restaurants with the territory”.

For his part, chef Borja Marrero (1 Michelin Green Star and 1 Repsol Sun) also gave a talk with the Canary Island pine as the main ingredient: after subjecting it to different cooking techniques, it becomes a very interesting ingredient for dishes.

From Tenerife, Adrián Bosch (San-Hô restaurant, with 1 Michelin Star and recommended by the Repsol Guide), came to the Origins Congress to show his cuisine enriched with Asian and Peruvian influences, based on the recipes and flavours of the Canary Islands. In addition to his assistant, he was accompanied by Guacimara Correa, a farmer from Tenerife with whom he works in his restaurant and develops his ‘Circular’ concept.

The chef Carme Ruscalleda (with 6 Michelin Stars and 5 Repsol Suns) travelled from Barcelona to give an interesting talk on gastronomy as an economic engine; while Marta Campillo, head waiter at the Diverxo restaurant in Madrid (3 Michelin Stars and 3 Repsol Suns), spoke about the professionalisation of the dining room and the profile of the new customer in restaurants.

The chef Benito Gómez (2 Michelin Stars and 2 Repsol Suns) and his head chef, Manuel Romero, gave a cooking demonstration, reflecting the work that he, like many chefs from Gran Canaria, does to promote high quality local produce and to show the work he does with small producers from all over Spain in his restaurant in Ronda (Málaga).

Recently arrived from France, the MOF (Best Obrador of France, a cheese producer and refiner) Dominique Bouchait, had the opportunity to visit the cheese factory La Gloria to get to know something of the island and its primary sector, as well as to inspire him to prepare a perfect cheese board. In addition to the cheeses of La Gloria, there were cheeses from Cortijo de Caideros, Cortijo de Pavón, Los Castañeros, Guedes, Altos de Moya and El Caidero.

The cocktail maker and member of the Association of Barmans of the Canary Islands, Antonio García, gave a demonstration of liquid recipes with the local product, highlighting not only our raw material in cocktails, but also the value of these drinks and distillates to harmonise the dishes on a menu in restaurants.

The Origins Gastronomic Congress was led by the chef Javier Torres (Cocina Hermanos Torres restaurant, Barcelona, with 3 Michelin Stars and 3 Repsol Suns), who, in addition to presenting all the speeches of the day, gave a presentation as a final reflection, accompanied by the three specialised journalists invited to the congress: Igor Cubillo (7 Caníbales and Guía Repsol), Juan Barbacil (Diario de Aragón and Radio Nacional de España) and Eufrasio Sánchez (Yantar). “This was the sixth edition of Orígenes, which says a lot about the work that Gran Canaria Me Gusta has been doing to raise awareness of the island’s gastronomy, local products and the great talent with identity, which is why it is a great platform of knowledge to continue to evolve in which I am very happy to have participated,” Torres concluded.

The Origins Gastronomic Congress was sponsored by El Corte Inglés.