The chef from La Graciosa, Benjamín Toledo, and his family have been key in recovering traditional recipes from La Graciosa and presenting them in Tenerife on the occasion of the Gastrocanarias 2024 contest, starring the eighth island.
In an interview with the Más de Uno Gourmet program on Radio Lanzarote, Toledo explains his passion for old recipes and how he decided to join Saborea in this gastronomic adventure.
- What is your relationship with the island of La Graciosa?
I was born in Lanzarote, but my parents are from La Graciosa, so I consider myself from La Graciosa. I have spent every summer there and all my friends are from there.
- What did you do before dedicating yourself to cooking?
I started working at sea. My father is a naval engineer and he didn't like me being a sailor, but I was in love with the sea. My cousins, who were older, were already boarding tuna boats. I got the bug and spent six years working on two boats.
In the sixth and seventh years, the seasons started to go badly because Morocco was asking for a lot of money for licenses. In addition, the Government offered money to shipowners to scrap the boats.
- What did you do then?
I started looking for work and was hired at Isla Bonita. I started washing dishes, I was an assistant, then I started to get the hang of cooking until I became a cook.
- You also ran your own business in La Graciosa...
Yes, I took over the Enriqueta restaurant in La Graciosa and had it for five years. Then I decided to return to Lanzarote. Working in La Graciosa is hard. Today more suppliers arrive, but for every transaction you have to go to Lanzarote and you depend on the sea. I was in different hotels, the Costa Calero, Los Zocos and the Princesa Yaiza, where I have been for ten years.
- How did you decide to represent La Graciosa in Gastrocanarias?
Saborea told me that they were looking for old recipes, that were going to be lost, so that chefs with a Sol Repsol could transform them. I am in love with old recipes. I love knowing their origin. Also, when Saborea told me that my father and mother were going to participate, they won me over.
- What old recipe did you prepare yourself?
I made the fried moray eel fideuá with tuna that my uncle makes once a year for a group of friends. For me it was very emotional, it was great, recovering recipes that were going to be lost in oblivion and cooking with my parents. It was also the first time I gave a presentation. It has been one of the best experiences of my life.
