The I Volcanic Cuisine Festival opened its doors at noon this Saturday amidst great anticipation, which was already felt in El Varadero square, in Puerto del Carmen, long before the announced time.
The president of the Cabildo, María Dolores Corujo, has expressed her satisfaction with the citizen response, "which demonstrates both the interest in enjoying our product and our chefs, as well as discovering new cuisines and returning to the long-awaited normality by sharing a toast with friends and acquaintances."
For his part, the Councilor for Economic Promotion and the Primary Sector, Andrés Stinga, has stressed the importance of local products being present at the event. "The imprint of producing in volcanic territories is being valued and we trust that this will eventually have a positive impact on our farmers, fishermen and ranchers, as well as the industry that emanates from the sector."
Another of the first visitors to the Festival, the CEO of the Art, Culture and Tourism Centers, Benjamín Perdomo, wanted to highlight "the importance for our visitors of the demonstration of good product, good gastronomy and efficient organization." The mayor of Tías, José Juan Cruz, celebrated the event "for how much it means for dynamizing a sector eager to enjoy experiences in its destination."
Throughout Saturday, the first of the two days of the Festival, thousands of people witnessed the presentations that took place in the Classroom designated for this purpose. The little ones had the opportunity to enjoy the knowledge of chefs Sofía Janer and Víctor Gonzalo (ex-MasterChef), who introduced them to the handling of products and the making of recipes.
María Gómez, owner of Magoga, in Cartagena, Murcia, signed the first of the presentations for the adult public: The Cartagena countryside and the Mediterranean Sea. After a short break, it was the turn of José Álvarez, from the La Costa restaurant, in El Ejido, Almería, who put the volcanic garden on the tables of the Classroom.
The morning session was closed by David Seijas, former sommelier of El Bulli, who offered a workshop on volcanic wines.
In the afternoon it was the turn of Filipino Volcanic Cuisine, with JP Anglo from Sarsa, in Manila, Philippines, and kooya, in Dubai, before master cheesemaker Isidoro Jiménez offered a Workshop on the most valued Canarian cheeses at the World Cheese Awards.
The day ended with one of the latest star products that Lanzarote offers to gastronomy: the scarlet shrimp from La Santa. Three chefs, Diego Schattenhofer, José Antonio González and Erlantz Gorostiza, have offered as many culinary versions with the product.
Smart and sustainable mobility
Andrés Stinga recalls that the Cabildo has increased the frequency of departures of the bus lines that connect Arrecife and Playa Blanca with Puerto del Carmen, and that a shuttle bus service has been enabled that connects the Medular road of Puerto del Carmen with the Varadero every 15 minutes.
The Festival also has a public parking in the vicinity of the Varadero.
The I Volcanic Cuisine Festival
Gastronomy, music, creativity, workshops, training sessions and talent come together in an event in which more than 60 top-level exhibitors take part with the aim of continuing to add efforts, knowledge and experience to improve the positioning of the destination.
The Volcanic Cuisine Classroom is a space for workshops and presentations given by well-known professionals in the Philippines, Mexico, Portugal and Spain who share a passion for volcanic gastronomy. 'The Cartagena countryside and the Mediterranean Sea', 'Chinijo Chef', 'The volcanic garden' and 'Volcanic wines' are some of the topics that are addressed by the chefs María Gómez, Sofía and Víctor and José Álvarez, and the sommelier David Seijas, respectively.
In the Gastronomic Market, restaurants, wineries, cheese factories, artisan breweries, producers and other companies in the sector offer both their products and their culinary creations prepared specifically for this occasion.
Music also plays a fundamental role in this gastronomic festival. On Saturday afternoon, at 8:00 p.m., there was a tribute to the Irish band U2 on the stage in the square. Once finished, at 10:00 p.m., it was the turn of La Mari de Chambao. This Sunday, at 2:30 p.m., those responsible for encouraging the public will be Treinta y tantos. People interested in consulting the Festival program or registering for some of the parallel workshops can do so on the website www.saborealanzarote.org.
PROGRAM FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27
11:00 a.m.: Chinijo Chef. Workshop for children. Cooking with volcanic products
-Guest chefs: Sofía and Víctor (MasterChef)
12:30 p.m.: Cheeses from volcanic pastures
-Isidoro Jimenez (Master Cheesemaker)
1:30 p.m.: Volcanic Flavors of Madeira
-Julio Pereira Rest. Kampo by Chef Júlio Pereira (Funchal, Portugal)
2:30 p.m.: Colima Knows · A landing to the Mexican cuisine of the Colima region
-Nico Mejía