THERE IS NO NATIONAL SPANISH CUISINE WITH OR WITHOUT CHORIZO?
In the Madrid Fusion Manila 2015 held at the SMX Mall of Asia, one of the guest speakers was the Spanish chef Pedro Subijana. He is a three-star Michelin awardee, and one of the founders of Nueva Cocina Vasca, or New Basque Cuisine. He declared in his awe-inspiring presentation: “There is no such thing as national Spanish cuisine, only regional Spanish cooking.”
Thus, when one speaks of the national cuisine of any country, one is offered a cross-section of the best dishes, if not the most popular, every region has to offer. Inevitably, when one speaks of Spanish cuisine in the national landscape, what comes to mind are these centuries-old iconic dishes: queso manchego ((milk from the Manchega sheep, La Mancha region), jamon iberico (southwestern provinces with dehesa, or oak forests), chorizos (national), croquetas (with regional differences), tortilla de patata (with slight regional differences), pulpo a la Gallega (Galicia), pescados fritos (Sevilla), gambas al ajillo (Madrid, Sevilla), paella (Valencia), fabada asturiana (Asturias), cochinillo (Segovia), cocido madrileño (Madrid), flan catalan (Catalonia), to name a few.
Just last week, Feb. 22, an exclusive dinner for a select media group was organized by Vien Cortes, our kababayan, the longtime regional market analyst of the Singapore-based Spanish Tourism Board (STB) for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
During her welcome remarks, she introduced Marta Fernandez, the new Tourism Counselor of the Embassy of Spain and the director of the STB. Vien also thanked guests from the media for helping promote Spanish tourism among Filipinos. She recalled that when she started her marketing campaign some 20 years ago, all that most Pinoys knew of the Spaniards was that they introduced the Catholic religion and were our former “conquistadores.” That has changed tremendously since, she said, with Filipinos discovering the richness in history and culture of Spain, and most especially the varied gastronomic offerings of the different autonomous regions.
The event was held at the Gallery by chef Chele Gonzalez, in BGC. True to form, there was great Spanish food, an impeccable Spanish wine selection, and a lively conversation on the myths and facts about some iconic Spanish dishes.
The dishes served were not far off the list I mentioned above about the regionality of each dish’s origin. They were creatively interpreted by the young Spanish chef Kevin Ian Udtujan from Cantabria. It was an evening to remember.
W