Marco Acosta from Lanzarote has always been in love with traveling and cooking. That's why he studied gastronomy in several countries around the world and now applies that knowledge to the development of eight burgers in his business 8 Burgers.
In an interview with the Radio Lanzarote program Más de Uno Gourmet, he explains how the project came about, first as catering and later with a shared space with the Salitre restaurant, in Charco de San Ginés, a place that he uses on Sundays and Mondays, when Salitre closes.
- How did your relationship with cooking begin?
My story with cooking comes from uniting two passions. I really like to travel. From a very young age, my family tried to take me on as many trips as possible and instilled in me how important it is to nourish yourself both culturally and gastronomically.
I have been to many places to study cooking, I was in Thailand, that's why my type of cuisine is very broad and I give free rein to fusing innovative techniques with traditional dishes, adapting it to the burger format.
- How was 8 Burgers born?
The 8 Burgers project is based on eight burgers inspired by eight countries, although I am already making the leap to autonomous communities because I am running out of countries, the world is not as big as it seems. (Laughs).
In principle, the project was born to provide a very select catering service, with very careful products, always zero kilometer.
- But for the meat it won't be that simple...
The meats usually come to us from La Finca, in Madrid, but we try to use all the products from the island that we can. We have made goat burgers, always with a Canarian certificate.
Our cheese always comes from Montaña de Haría, a very family-friendly cheese factory with a spectacular product. The potatoes are from Los Valles, the sweet potato is 100% from the jable, the lettuces, the tomatoes from Tinajo... Everything that can be local is, for us it is non-negotiable.
- What characterizes your business?
We are very committed to local agriculture and we have also joined forces and created synergies with a lot of companies on the island.
We also support local athletes. For example, we have just started a collaboration with Echer Sosa, one of the young people with the greatest impact in the wrestling sector, who will soon be entering the American UFC.
- Why is 8 burgers only open on Sundays and Mondays?
As I was saying, we started as catering and decided to scale. First in the premises of some friends who closed on Sunday and now in Salitre, in Charco de San Ginés.
It is a way of giving a second option to the same place. Salitre has its project from Tuesday to Saturday and we, on the days they close, give the place a new life. It is a kind of coworking that is quite fun for both the business and the client.
- Are the eight burgers fixed or do they vary?
That is very curious because creatively this company gives me a lot of life. Every week I exclusively launch a burger based on a country that will only be available those two days.
It is an incentive for our clients that every time they go they find a new burger madness. We call it a burger because they have two burger buns but for me they are gourmet dishes.
- Is there a vegan option?
Of course, any of the eight burgers can be ordered in a vegan version. We also have the option of ordering gluten-free bread.