On November 15th the Best New Chef competition took place at CEA in the Cartuja, with six young chefs competing in this Iron Chef event. And while they were busy trying to impress the judges by creating a unique dish with surprise Andalusian ingredients, we were treated to several cooking demonstrations by top Spanish chefs Dani Garcia, Francis Paniego, Quique Dacosta and Angel Leon, as well as local restauranteurs including Puratasca, Zurrutraque, Gorki, Simun and Sur (Gastromium).
Just before lunch break (which was much later than planned due to technical difficulties getting started) the Best Chef award was presented to Grenadian Francisco Javier Rivas for his “Ibéric ‘dam’ of Sierra Mayor filled with false risotto, potatoes, pear and herbal air”. He also received 3.000 euros, a training course and a trip to next year’s Andalucía Sabor conference.
Congratulations Francisco!
After the cocktail lunch featuring tapas made from regional products, the book Andalucía destapa Andalucía was presented, followed by the final ponencias of the day.