Dolia dazzles the tastebuds

WITH SEVEN Michelin stars between them, four local chefs stunned their audience in a recent show cooking spectacular at Teulada auditorium.

The chefs, with their different personalities and styles, inspired their audience with a simple ingredient – the tomato.

Their gastronomic adventures were embodied into their dishes, where they explored the multiple possibilities that tomato has in the kitchen - in liquid, solid form, in brine, fermented, dried or in the form of ‘snow’.

Rafa Soler, with one star, recreated tradition and roots in his dish, whilst two-starred Alberto Ferruz achieved a union of “heart and passion” by combining ancestral and modern cuisine.

Meanwhile, one-starred Nazario Cano used the sea as an inspiration, made a creation called a ‘sea tomato’ by using with strong flavours and textures.

With Juanfra Valiente, who has obtained three of the prestigious stars, spectators enjoyed a sensory journey based on the pure flavour of the tomato, and using new, almost magical culinary techniques, he created ‘a sequence of tomatoes’.

For their final dish, the four chefs jointly produced the traditional and exclusive sweet of Teulada ‘La Dama’, made with Muscat grapes.

To conclude the Dolia event, last Monday the Moscatel de Alejandría International gastronomic contest was held at the venue. The competition directed by chef Rafa Soler, and organised by Teulada tourist department, was held to explore the multiple possibilities of the use of Muscat grapes within the kitchen.

From early in the morning, the eight finalists began to prepare their dishes with their grapes. After tasting each creation, the members of the gastronomic jury decided to award the second prize to the chef Sergio Box of the restaurant La Perla de Xàbia, who produced a textured dish of Muscat with molluscs, for which he received a trophy and €800.

The first prize went to the creation from chef Juan Miguel Jiménez from the Taberna del Gourmet restaurant in Alicante, who delighted the judges with a combination of pickled grapes, mackerel, almond and white bean oil. He won €1,500.