Garum | VII Gastronomy Awards
The Gastronomy Awards, organized by LA VERDAD, recognize the effort and talent of professionals in the sector in the Region
Recognize the quality of work and effort of those who carry out activities in the inexhaustible gastronomic universe of the Region of Murcia. These are the main objectives of the Gastronomy Awards, convened by LA VERDAD and which this year celebrates its seventh edition.
The jury, made up of chefs, journalists and different experts from the field of hotels and restaurants, has valued on this occasion the excellence of Odeón, the gastronomic heart of the Odiseo complex, directed by chef Nazario Cano (1 Michelin star), in the Best Creative Cuisine Restaurant category. Cano already had a Michelin star in Alicante, and last year he achieved recognition for Odeón in record time, renewed this year. The jury applauds “the constant research into culinary techniques to obtain brilliant results in the delicacy of flavors”, in addition to the room and the restaurant’s sommelier. The place stands with an award that in recent years has frequently gone to La Cabaña, the award-winning project of chef Pablo González Conejero, who on this occasion becomes the honorary partner of the awards and member of a coordinated jury by the journalist specialized in gastronomy and director of the Gastronomic Region of Murcia, Sergio Gallego.
The awards ceremony will be held on Monday, December 12 at the Víctor Villegas Auditorium
From the luxury of the gastronomic experience at Odysseus, in the capital of the Region, to the unquestionable quality of the culinary proposal presented by El Rincón de Joaquín, “one of the restaurants where you can eat the best in the entire Region” and which already means “A true benchmark in the Campo de Cartagena region.” Voted Best Traditional Cuisine Restaurant, it is located in San Cayetano and run by chef Joaquín Madrid, son of a farmer and farmer before being a cook. Formed with figures such as Martín Berasategui, Madrid learned in the Basque Country some of the secrets of a kitchen that has inevitably ended up influencing its kitchens and those of many other Murcian kitchens. The menu is based on the quality of the local product and on traditional and Basque cuisine. Top quality fresh fish and vegetables, all in season, El Rincón de Joaquín also offers a good assortment of meats and stews daily. It will be Catalina Bolea, wife of Joaquín Madrid, who will receive the award.
The Best Chef in the Region this year, according to the jury, is Juani Palao, from Los Chispos. The restaurant is a mandatory stop in the Altiplano region and not only for its famous and award-winning gazpachos, but also for its bar with tapas and its room service and events such as weddings, baptisms and communions. Although she humbly admits that she does not know how to command, Juani Palao “masterfully” directs a large team of workers in different areas of this family business, defines the jury, which has also recognized “the determined commitment” of the restaurant and its head of cuisine for “traditional cuisine of the area”. Founded in 1998, the restaurant is about to celebrate a quarter of a century of life, remaining faithful to the same philosophy: “The success of a company lies in the satisfaction of its customers.”
From Torreaguera to Alhama
The award in the Best Sommelier/Best Head of Room category this year goes to the sommelier of the Pepe Tomás restaurant, Francisco Javier Saura. The place, located in the Murcian district of Torreagüera, has “one of the best bogedas in the entire Region of Murcia”, in addition to “one of the best cuisines and one of the best pairings” in the entire regional territory, value the members of the jury of the Gastronomy Awards. Francisco Javier Saura “has the elegance to approach the diner without wanting to be the protagonist” and, at the same time, brings a special touch to the dining room so that “the experience in the restaurant is unique”.
The award for Best Bar or Tavern will go to Alhama de Murcia this year. Here is located El Rincón, a small family bar with many years of experience that is already a reference in the municipality despite the fact that it does not fit more than a dozen customers inside. However, the jury has valued his “consistency and good work”, in addition to the example that is to demonstrate that “the creativity that is needed in the hotel and restaurant business is not only expressed in specific dishes, but when it comes to being different in various fields.”
The award for best chef of the year -which was received in 2021 by the chef of Alma Mater Juan Guillamón, the last chef in the Region to be promoted to the universe of Michelin stars-, gives way in this edition to the category of Best Young Talent, which falls to Miguel Hernández, from the Por Herencia restaurant. The project is the result of going one step further in the concept of a traditional tavern that Los Toneles represents, together with the training and experience acquired by Hernández in centers such as the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastián. “We are the third generation and our role has been to redefine our culinary style based on three fundamental pillars: our origins, our way of cooking and our environment,” they explain from the restaurant. The merit of Miguel Hernández at the head of Por Herencia, according to the jury, is “updating the gastronomic offer without losing the essence of everything he has done in the past” the Los Toneles family.
But, if it is about updating the offer without losing the essence, it is also essential to talk about the new establishment created by chef Samuel Ruiz in the Café Bar Verónicas, which wins the Best Innovative and/or Sustainable Project Award. A lifelong bar, next to the Mercado de Verónicas in Murcia, which today offers some of the most surprising tapas that a client can taste on the other side of a bar, from the caballito (of langoustine) to the croquette (of roasted chicken ). The establishment maintains the original structure and decoration of the old business, the tradition of neighborhood bars, but with the advantage of having the indisputable technique of Samuel Ruiz in the kitchen.
The judge
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Sergio Gallego, journalist and food critic
Awards coordinator and secretary of the jury. -
María José Martínez, chef and manager of Lienzo (Valencia)
At the forefront of sustainable cuisine and with a Michelin star. -
Laura Meroño, from Casa Tomás
Responsible for the catering service at Casa Tomás. -
Pablo González, chef at La Cabaña (Murcia)
Two Michelin stars and honorary member of the Gastronomy Awards. -
Joaquín Reyes, director of Gourmet Magazine
Chef, designer and photographer, he coordinates ‘Sabores Región de Murcia’. -
Juan Francisco Carmona, from Pura Cepa restaurant (Murcia)
Sommelier, he was a finalist in the prestigious Nariz de Oro contest in 2014. -
Patricia Pérez, from José Antonio Bakery
Association of the Guild of Bakers of the Region of Murcia. -
Marta Ceballos, from CCT
Product Manager Gastronomic Tourism Plan 2017-2020. -
Pachi Larrosa, journalist and food critic
Member of the Academy of Gastronomy of the Region of Murcia.
The Churrascos
The awards -sponsored by 1001 Sabores Región de Murcia and 40 Years of Autonomy of the Region of Murcia; Murcia City Council; Murcia Commercial Area (Muac); Levant Star; Gil Family Estates; Makro and Salzillo Tea & Coffee, and which have the collaboration of Panasa- also recognize the professional career of José María Alcaraz with the Lifetime Award. Soul and founder of the Los Churrascos restaurant and a “true institution of regional gastronomy” -as recognized by the jury-, José María Alcaraz has dedicated a good part of his 75 years to offering the best possible gastronomy in his oasis of El Algar, which continues to have “one of the best product windows in the entire Region”. A great defender of the local product and holder of the best kept secrets in the most traditional steakhouses in Spain -he has the title of ambassador of suckling pig from Segovia-, José María Alcaraz achieved a Michelin star that he kept from 1993 to 1998, hobnobbing for that then with Raimundo González himself and El Rincón de Pepe. A restaurant numerous times awarded by national and international institutions that is proof that creativity and the quality of the dishes are not incompatible with simplicity. Los Churrascos, which has been in the Olympus of regional cuisine for many decades, continues to be a reference in the Campo de Cartagena and the Mar Menor for its traditional stews, its exquisite meats and the way it treats cod with up to 21 different preparations.
The Gastronomy Awards ceremony will be held next Monday, December 12, starting at 8:30 p.m. in the Miguel Ángel Clares room of the Víctor Villegas Auditorium, in Murcia. It is essential to have an invitation, which can be obtained through the web ‘premiosgastronomiamurcia.laverdad.es’.
#taste #success