Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 01:26
The gastronomic universe of Murcia is one of its flagships, since it positions the name of the municipality on the national map and serves as a pole of attraction for tourism, which has among its main priorities when visiting the seventh Spanish city reserving a table and tablecloth in the establishments that make up its extensive hospitality network. On the terrace, bar or lounge, the culinary art that is professed here conquers different palates, thanks to a recipe that combines tradition and avant-garde, the European garden, sea and mountains… and with a battalion of chefs who have even touched Michelin heaven. In short, the hotel industry has become the tourist segment that already arouses the interest of four out of five visitors who choose the Region of Murcia as their travel destination and, furthermore, describe its gastronomic offer as ‘very good’.
With the aim of x-raying the situation of the sector, highlighting the strong points and identifying the challenges of gastronomy, the ‘Murcia Eterna’ participatory cycle held its fifth and last day at the Romea Theater last Monday. Organized by the Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Murcia City Council, the meeting brought together a panel of regional experts who shed light on one of the most important tourist, cultural, social and economic pillars of the city.
Kilometer 0. Local products generate value
The commitment to local products, that is, those that are consumed a short distance from where they are grown, has won out among hoteliers, since their dishes exude more freshness and flavor, and also among consumers, whose awareness of what is local It has spread in recent times. “The defense of the product unites us”, added the gastronomic critic Sergio Gallego.
A vision shared by the double Michelin star Pablo González, who defined himself as “in love” with the product, which “is the main thing”. «If it is from here, much better; but I am not a Taliban of origin”, he clarified, adding that quality, yes or yes, is essential: “We are cooks, not magicians, so we cannot make a good dish with a bad product”. In addition, he shared that one of the positive readings of the pandemic has been, on the part of the population, the greater awareness of the local product and sustainability, concepts that globalization put on hold.
In this regard, the sommelier manager of La Gracia Encanto Líquido, Esperanza Pérez, encouraged the sector to introduce trends (kilometre 0, circular economy): “You have to take the changes by hand and put them into operation seriously.” As an example, the ‘Murcia Emplea’ Hospitality School has sustainability as its flagship, via tender, requiring the supplier company to meet a series of conditions, such as that the products are organic and local and the beverage containers are returnable or reusable, among others, listed Gloria Marín, head of the center attached to the Murcia City Council.
“Today’s society demands to recover autochthonous varieties, not to generate waste…”, confessed the agronomist Manuel Navarro, who encouraged a move towards sustainable models. “We have knowledge and adaptability,” he scrutinized.
Labour. Hoteliers accuse the lack of staff
The hospitality sector arouses mixed feelings. On the one hand, it is a nerve center and meeting point for friends, family, co-workers… and on the other, the offer does not cover the demand. Precisely, the lack of qualified personnel throughout the year, not only in summer, is one of the occupations and concerns of businessmen, who fear that they will not be able to cope with their activity.
In his opinion, the journalist Gallego appealed to the lack of motivation for the shortage of labor and refused that it was a matter of money. “People don’t want to work on weekends or split hours,” he lamented, adding taxation as another handicap: “Taxes fry us.” Immediately afterwards, Pérez asked to “have inspiration” to dedicate himself to the hospitality industry, just as it happens – he exemplified – in medicine.
Marín valued the human resources trained in the business fabric, since they are part of the quality of the establishment. Likewise, he indicated that there are training actions for active hotel and tourism workers, such as the title of ‘Healthy Cooking’, so that the participants acquire the basic fundamentals in dietetics, healthy culinary products and techniques.
Pablo Gonzalez. Chef at Cabaña Buenavista and double Michelin star
“The recovery of autochthonous varieties is giving brilliant results”
Pablo González addressed the project for the recovery of traditional horticultural varieties developed from the Imida Germplasm Bank. “We have been working on this initiative for some time because we wondered why the tomato did not taste like a tomato,” he contextualized, to then reveal that they have selected varieties of wild herbs (lizones, collejas), round green beans, aubergines, cherry tomatoes… “The The results are brilliant”, he presumed, adding that it is a long-distance race and that it requires perseverance. Even so, farmers are showing great interest in reintroducing these autochthonous varieties to their crops, where some time ago they opted for seeds whose fruits were more durable and resistant to travel.
Hope Perez. Sommelier manager of La Gracia Encanto Líquido
“Working with local producers generates economic and dissemination value”
The sommelier Esperanza Pérez unveiled La Gracia Encanto Líquido, the business project that she launched five years ago, together with her partner, and which is characterized by bringing together a pure list of natural wines, “that go beyond organic and They feel great to us,” he stressed. Another of its strengths is the close relationship it maintains with local producers, a commitment that generates economic value and even dissemination, “because you have to talk to customers about how much quality the wines, cheeses and oils contain” , which are other of his proposals. “I encourage the sector to work under this concept,” she said, while she shared that her business also covers the lines of training and distribution.
Sergio Gallego. Journalist, food critic and coordinator of the Municipal Gastronomic Center
“Gastronomy has to have a clear objective to satisfy tourism”
Sergio Gallego took advantage of his speech to value “the only thing that has not been said or said enough, how good Murcian gastronomy is outside our borders.” In this sense, he encouraged the sector to leave the municipality and the Region to get to know and soak up what is being cooked in other cities, beyond the culinary cathedrals of San Sebastián, Madrid and Barcelona. He mentioned the case of Malaga, which has established a new strategy adding gastronomy to the tourist potential of the destination. “You have to be clear about the objective to satisfy tourism,” he claimed. Regarding the world of wine, he recognized that this segment is gaining a foothold in the capital of Segura, “with a high level of specialisation”.
Gloria Marin. Head of the ‘Murcia Emplea’ Hospitality School of the Murcia City Council
“The Hospitality School tries to favor the most disadvantaged groups”
Gloria Marín highlighted the practical training that the students of the ‘Murcia Emplea’ Hospitality School receive, so that they learn to function both in the kitchen and in the dining room. This activity is complemented by cooperation with the most vulnerable groups, as they do daily with different NGOs. Proof of this are the 60 dinners prepared by the students of the training plan for the Jesús Abandonado soup kitchen or the healthy breakfasts for La Huertecica prepared by the students of the Pastry and Confectionery Professional Certificate. The School of Hospitality also adds to the concept of zero food waste and to provide a gastronomic experience.
Manuel Navarro. Agricultural engineer
“Traditional agriculture and agroecology are complementary”
The agricultural engineer Manuel Navarro, who is also a member of the Water, Garden and Environment Department of the Official College of Agricultural Engineers of the Region of Murcia, clarified that traditional agriculture and agroecology “are complementary”, although the future of this industry points towards the zero waste concept. “Either we are sustainable, or we will not be”, he stated, recalling that “technicians try to facilitate the transition towards sustainable models”. Navarro also indicated that society has accepted the raw materials that the agri-food industry supplies, while specifying that new consumption habits call for more native varieties and sustainable products. Another headline that he gave was the lack of generational relief in the field.
For his part, González said that his restaurant Cabaña Buenavista has a team of 30 people to serve 20 diners per service, an “unfeasible and unsustainable” deployment, but which is maintained thanks to the other division of the company, an events room . “Earning a euro in the hospitality industry is complicated, it is a task for true superheroes,” he compared.
Room training. The image and the eyes of the kitchen
Another claim launched by the catering sector is the lack of training for room staff, considered the image of any business. “I would invest more”, recommended Sergio Gallego, who affirmed that “it is the subject that we pass scratching; We can still improve.” In line, Pablo González said that “we have a serious, serious, serious problem with training”, since tourism is one of the main economic engines and “there is no one who wants to dedicate himself to serving.” Given this scenario, from Cabaña Buenavista, he pointed out, the room staff have a strong role in the service, since it is “the image of the restaurant and our eyes outside the kitchen.”
Marín announced that a year-long, paid training project will begin on April 19, in which the students of the Employment Service will acquire skills in vegan, celiac and intolerant cooking, ham cutting, catering… « We train versatile professionals with a high level of specialization so that they can find a job”, he boasted.
“Gastronomy is a banner of the city”
The Councilor for Culture, Tourism and Sports, Pedro García Rex, was in charge of opening the fifth and last day of ‘Eternal Murcia’, a cycle that started last November with the purpose of establishing a bridge with Murcian society to give Know the large projects of the municipality, through a framework of dialogue with the tourism and cultural sectors. “Gastronomy is a banner of the city that has gained in quality and prestige,” he assured, to then reflect it with the creation of the Municipal Gastronomic Center to promote Murcia as a culinary tourist destination. “It is having success with the public and within the sector,” he stressed.
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