Madrid Academy of Gastronomy Awards 2024: Osa and Campo Real olives, among the winners

Awards, held since 2016, with which this public law – and non-profit – corporation values ​​the work of personalities, companies and institutions that deserve to be highlighted in different areas: from producers to restaurantspassing through the trades that make it possible to enjoy a good culinary experience in all the formats and spaces that exist. The front-of-house professionals, the tavern keepers, the mixologists and, of course, the chefs.

Thus, the academics who are part of this institution, chaired for just a year by Rogelio Enríquez – after the appointment of Luis Suárez de Lezo as president of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy – have decided to award these people and spaces.

«It has been a very, very intense year. In this time I have realized the strength we have as an academy, the importance and the amount of things we can do; in addition to the recognition and prestige we have from the entire sector. The Academy has limited power of action, but the effort is to be hospitality patrons and the Madrid food sector, and protectors of the region’s gastronomy,” explained Enríquez during the awards ceremony.

«Madrid has the challenge of preserving its traditional heritage, not losing its idiosyncrasy. Many traditional restaurants are closing and there is no generational change; So the biggest challenge is for the new openings to coexist with the usual sites. centenarians, neighborhood taverns and bars “they can coexist with all the newness,” he added, in line with the objective that Enríquez expressed just a year ago, in an interview with ABC, as soon as he took office.

Likewise, he has ventured to indicate what is the future of the restaurant sector. «In the near future, I believe that the region’s restaurant sector will see a tendency towards polarization, that is, we will have either haute cuisine or very cheap cuisine and there will be a lack of intermediate places; That is where our challenge lies, trying to have places for all audiences, not just top and cheap places,” concluded the president of this institution.

The restaurant run by the couple made up of young chefs Sara Perales and Jorge Muñozhas won the award for best restaurant in Madrid by the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy. Osa has caused a lot of talk since it opened at the beginning of 2022. Both for its location – in a house in the Manzanares neighborhood – and for its creative cuisine, recognized with a Michelin star in 2023. National product and French technique, game, select fish, a good winery and a lot of bravery that was also awarded by Madrid Fusión with the award for revelation chefs of this 2024.

Address: Ribera del Manzanares, 123. Madrid.

Luis Baselgainternational wine director of Smoked Room, Dani García’s two Michelin stars in Madrid – with a branch in Dubai –, has won the title of best sommelier in the region at the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy awards this 2024. The sommelier and maître of this restaurant, in the basement of the Hyatt Regency Hesperia in the capital. There he has worked on a concept of customizing the harmonies he offers to complement the solid part, in the hands of the young chef Massimiliano Delle Vedove. He also works on his own wine distributor, Unicorn Wines, focused on references from all over the world.

The restaurant The Good Life In 2024, it wins the award for best market cuisine from the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy. This bistro, with almost a quarter of a century of history behind it, was founded by Elisa Rodríguez and Carlos Torres. Classic cuisine, a guarantee against all fashions, and the strict season of each product mark the proposal of this space. A true haven for gourmets and their loyal clientele.

Address: Conde de Xiquena, 8. Madrid

It was one of the best openings of its year, in 2019, in Madrid and this 2024, the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy has awarded it the award for the best international cuisine. An award that highlights the French-style recipes developed by chef Stephane del Río. An unapologetic commitment to the classic cuisine of the neighboring country in a well-kept space full of details. Another of its attractions is its wine list, with numerous good references from the French country, which practically cover its offer.

Address: Amnesty Street, 10. Madrid.

Del Diego This 2024, it wins the Bares y Tragos award from the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy. It is the work of Fernando del Diego, “an outstanding student” of Perico Chicote and father of David and Fernando, souls of this temple of cocktails in Madrid. Opened in 1992, this space has established itself as one of the benchmarks of mixology, with service and hospitality as trademarks of the house. Their children have picked up the legacy of classic cocktails “with a bit of a snack” in the purest ‘old school’ style.

Address: Queen, 12. Madrid.

The Fisna Wine Bar It has been recognized in 2024 with the Bares y Tragos award from the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy. This wine shop and bar in Lavapiés houses true oenological gems that delight its clientele. Wines from large wine-growing regions – sherries, Burgundies, Bordeaux, champagnes – and also unknown references from small producers. To discover them, they offer a simple menu with cold cuts and cheeses. Also with some homemade dishes: from pickles to onions to meatball stews, tripe or legumes.

Address: Calle del Amparo, 91. Madrid.

Cuenllas wins the award for best gastronomic establishment of 2024. In addition to being one of the most reputable restaurants in the capital – whose history dates back to 1939 as a butter shop and grocery store – it has a select gourmet products store that makes the delights of its historic clientele. Its classic cuisine continues to seduce those who sit at its table looking for some dishes such as its ‘txangurro’ cannelloni, its roast bone marrow or the now famous canapés of battered hake, shrimp with aioli or eel brandade. More than half a thousand references appear in its wine list.

Address: Ferraz 3 and 5. And in Orellana, 4 (store).

Rafa and Miguel Ángel Andrés, representing the family that gave life to one of the most emblematic establishments in Madrid, Rafa Restaurant, have received special recognition for a lifetime from the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy. Their respective parents, brothers Rafael and Rodrigo Andrés, founded a small establishment in 1958 on Narváez Street in the capital that is, by right, living history of hospitality in the city. A space that was not born as a seafood restaurant – which was by chance and by the determination of its owners to be the best after a notorious fiasco during Christmas. Today they continue to display careful traditional cuisine and a selected product – meat, fish and seafood – which is the hallmark of the house.

In addition to the aforementioned awards, the special recognitions of the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy in 2024 for the best product from Madrid, the best Gastronomic business project and the best sustainable social project have gone, respectively, to: the Campo Real olive; The Umbrella Group, Sandro Silva and Marta Seco; and the pizzeria Movement Mode.

The Campo Real olives They are made with the chamomile variety and their personality is achieved thanks to a special dressing – thyme, fennel, oregano and garlic – that has been kept intact – with some optional natural flavorings allowed by their quality designation – such as bay leaf, marjoram or the cumin More than 75% of the table olive production in the entire Community of Madrid is seasoned in Campo Real.