Leonor Espinosa: “The soul of cuisine is in the villages”

After a successful popular day that last Sunday filled the center of Agüimes with rural cuisine, Terrae began yesterday at the Municipal Theater of this town the professional part of the International Meeting of Rural Gastronomy. A first day of the congress that was marked by the presentation of the Terrae award to the Colombian chef Leonor Espinosa (LEO, Bogota), who conclusively summarized the meaning of rural gastronomy by stating that “the soul of cuisine is in the towns”. Espinosa, who was awarded the Terrae award for his work with the indigenous communities of his country to value all their cultural heritage, He insisted on “pride in the natural environment” and warned young people not to fall into the easy temptation of migrating to the big city, advising them to look for the differential fact of each region through the memories of its people..

A task that many Spanish chefs are already carrying out, as demonstrated by the fact that Terrae has brought together more than 50 cooks from the 17 autonomous communities, as well as chefs from rural Italian and Portuguese areas. An example of all the work that is being done could be seen during the presentation by Ignacio Echapresto (Sale of Moncalvillo***, Rioja Daroca), who explained how the risky bet that he and his brother Carlos took at the time to “be able to make a living in the town where we were born”, In the long run it had become a business that has managed to establish population in the town, make it known and forge a network of producers who see how their genre has been revalued. Echapresto, who addressed especially the youngest members of the audience, He also defended the regeneration, “that goes beyond sustainability”, and claimed “the luxury of immediacy and cooking what the land gives us at all times” as key elements of rural cuisine.

Portuguese chefs showed themselves along this same line. Octavio Freitas (Disarm*, Funchal, Madeira) y Filipe Ramalho (Pateo Real, Alter do Chao, Alentejo), who brought to this meeting part of the charm of their territories through their own products and recipes inherited from previous generations. Freitas assured that “the customer is now no longer just looking to eat, "He wants to know the territory", which allows both him and his companion from Alentejo to freely explore the traditions of their regions.

The Canarian wrestling arena converted into a cultural space that hosted this first professional day of the congress was for a few hours a kitchen and a place for exchanging ideas since, as the director of the congress recalled Benjamin Wool, “Terrae is a space to share ideas and experiences in a way that helps us all continue growing”. In addition, Minerva Alonso, economic development advisor of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, He took the opportunity to remember the great work that rural cuisine does “showing the diversity of the landscape.”, cultural and gastronomic” in this case of the island itself, the hostess of the Earth.

Something that the canaries know well Aridani Alonso and Victor Lugo, chef and owner respectively of the Casa Romántica restaurant (Gran Canaria), who have turned this farm in the Agaete Valley into a true “product ambassador”, which has not only a restaurant but also an interpretation center for the products of Gran Canaria”, the businessman said.

The rural business is multifaceted

Casa Romántica is a good example of a type of business that is giving good results in rural environments., a business that seeks to combine different facets to offer an experience that goes beyond gastronomy. This symbiosis of projects was also discussed in the round table that included José Ignacio Jauregui, from Navarre Maskarada; Jose Gordon, from the Leonese winery El Capricho; Vicent Guimerà, from L'Antic Molí** (Ulldecona, Tarragona), and the Canarian winemaker Jerome Marrero, who spoke of taking advantage of all the resources at their disposal to offer customers something more than a menu, as well as understanding sustainability not as an empty word, but as a certain way of doing things right. Looking for the keys to success for this type of business, Jauregui warned that “in the rural world, "Profitability depends more on quality than quantity" while his colleague from León stressed "knowing the territory.", know what you can offer, work on it and take advantage of all the resources and then know how to communicate it”. Finally, Guimerà looked to the future, ensuring that today's work "has to be an example so that young people see that these businesses have a future and give them continuity".

Also in round table format, Terrae wanted to dedicate part of its first day to talking about the importance of valuing the artisan product, something he did through one of these products that many rural communities share: the cheese. From the hand of the founder of Forever Cheese Michele Buster, from the Canarian cheese factory Lucia Torres and the chef Pepe Solla (Solla House*, Poio, Pontevedra) It was found that “there is a lack of dissemination and knowledge of the world of cheese”. The importer of Spanish cheese in the US. Michele Buster complained about the bureaucratic obstacles that prevent many small cheese factories from having access to the international market, while Solla warned that it is necessary to “give added value to the cheese. Of mediocrity, the market is saturated. “Not of excellence”.
Lucia Torres, from Quesería Era del Cardón de Agüimes highlighted the importance of knowing the tradition and enjoying work, something key for this profession to continue with the new generations.

Terrae concluded his first professional day with a visit to the Salinas de Tenefé, place where a work session also took place in which all the participating chefs debated and shared proposals, whose conclusions will be presented at the end of the congress, to make the rural environment and its gastronomy values ​​of the present but also of the future.