Begoña Frahija Rodríguez, who studies Kitchen Management at the IES Zonzamas in Lanzarote, participated in the Canary Islands Semifinal of the national tapas competition GMchef 'Feed your Talent 2019'. The young woman competed with an 'Enyesque de Fifi', a tapa dedicated to her grandmother in which she used goat meat, accompanied by semi-cured cheese sauce, made with milk cheese, cream, dried fig chutney, a gofio tile and aloe vera flakes.
Although this 21-year-old from Lanzarote did not manage to win the competition, she is "very happy" to have reached the semi-final. "Especially because I hadn't planned to participate, because I'm very shy," explained Begoña, who says that she finally decided to take the step because her father encouraged her.
"He always teases me and so on, he tells me you can do it, and he told me that he and my family already knew what I was worth, that I should do it for myself and have fun and live the experience," said the IES Zonzamas student. An experience that she says has also helped her to want to participate in cooking competitions. "After this, it has been seen that the shyness, as soon as you get there to the kitchen of the contest, goes away. And the truth is that yes, I really want to continue entering competitions," she pointed out
Regarding the dish she made and decided to dedicate to her grandmother, Begoña explained that in it she decided to put together all those ingredients that her grandmother cooked separately as a child and that she made her eat even though she didn't like them. "But now I love them," she said.
Promoting talent and creativity in gastronomy
The GMchef competition, organised by GMcash and aimed at first-year hospitality and cooking students, proclaimed Rosa Nazareth Ortiz from the Santa Brígida Hotel School in Gran Canaria as the winner, with her recipe "Delights of agriote with sage mojo", a tapa of avant-garde and Canarian tradition.
The jury was chaired by chef Erlantz Gorostiza (2 Michelin star chef - MB Restaurant), accompanied by Aída González (Ambassador of Restoration with Canarian Seal in Madrid - Restaurant 'Cuerno Cabra"), Juan Santiago (chef and owner - Hestia Restaurant), Davidoff Lugo (president of the Association of Pastry Chefs, Cooks and Bakers 'Mojo Picón' and chef - Maroa Restaurant) and Natalia González Godoy, Canary Islands finalist of the GMchef 2018 competition..
The aim of the GMchef competition is to promote talent and creativity in gastronomy, to train future chefs and to recognise the top three with an internship in the country's leading Michelin-starred restaurants. This 4th edition has seen the participation of more than 1,000 students from more than 150 schools throughout the country.
After the first phases of the competition, 30 students from 27 schools throughout Spain will compete in six semi-finals to reach the Grand Final to be held in Madrid on 12 November, where a jury with more than 10 Michelin stars will select the grand winner of GMchef 2019. This jury will be chaired by chef Martín Berasategui, who will be accompanied by Erlantz Gorostiza, among others.
