A culinary tour of Spain conjures up images of the classics from paella laden with chicken, shrimp and mussels; chilled gazpacho, the garlicky cold soup chockfull of tomatoes, onions and peppers, and churros, the fried pastry dusted with sugar.
For those seeking the traditional fare, Spain offers lots of options with more than 25,000 restaurants, 145 of which have achieved Michelin status, combined with 18 wine routes.
What’s new for gourmet explorers, however, is the chance to experience what’s exciting and fresh in Spain that is being created by a new wave of innovative chefs and restaurants coming on the scene.
Paco Roncero is just one example of the talented chefs making a splash.
At a recent culinary event hosted by The Spanish Consulate in New York, chef Roncero demonstrated his inventive ideas before an audience of food aficionados.
Chef Roncero is the executive chef and director of the Casino de Madrid as well as the Estado Puero gastro bars and View 62 by PacoRoncero, in Hong Kong. He most recently helped introduce Sublimotion, billed as an “unparalleled gastro-sensory venture” in the new Hard Rock Hotel, Ibiza, where a 20-course meal can cost upwards of $2000.
Roncero believes cuisine should be a total sensory experience combining not only taste, but aroma, texture, color and surprising presentation. His demonstration using liquid nitrogen to make instant ice cream surprised and impressed the audience with the mysterious smoke billowing out of the bowl.
Chefs Keeping Spain on Leading Edge of Culinary World
Other popular chefs making a new age statement in the Spanish culinary world are:
Ferran Adrià, formerly the head chef of the renowned elBulli restaurant on the Costa Brava.
Juan Mari Arzak owner and chef of Arzak restaurant. He is considered to be one of the great masters of New Basque cuisine.
Martín Berasategui, also a Basque chef, owns the 3-star Michelin restaurant Lasarte-Oria.
Carme Ruscalleda is a renowned Catalan chef of the restaurant Sant Pau in Sant Pol de Mar, near Barcelona.
Chefs like these are helping place Spain at the forefront of international haute cuisine and alongside the notable classical recipes.
