Spain's 10

Dani García

El Calima, Marbella

One of most energetic chefs presenting, Chef Garcia started things off by bringing out the big toy – a tank of liquid nitrogen. Using a whipped cream dispenser, he put an emulsion of sherry, tomato water and olive oil into the liquid nitrogen for just a few seconds. The oils instantly froze into “popcorn” which he then plated with oysters, olive oil, tomato and cherry on a plate. For an Andalusian, this dish would trigger taste memories of familiar dishes, but be in a completely different form.

Chef Garcia also used the liquid nitrogen to create a crispy skin around a piece of Iberian ham, which he plated on top of a mixture of ground dehydrated peas and bread crumbs, and topped with a poached quail egg. He then again used the whipped cream dispenser to spray a ham-infused cream into the liquid nitrogen, creating a “cloud” with a crunchy skin. The “cloud” completely covered the eggs, so that when the diner broke through the cloud, they would find the soft yolk - an update of a an egg over easy, as well as the classic Andalusian dish of peas, ham, and eggs.

Quique Dacosta

El Poblet, Denia, Alicante
Another chef who is playing with the traditional cuisine of his home-region is Chef Quique Dacosta. His restaurant El Poblet, the same place he began his career at the age of 17, is located on the eastern coast of Spain, giving his food Mediterranean influences. Among the dishes he demonstrated was Creamy Parmesan with Veil of 6 Basils and Pine Nuts. To him, this dish shows his concept of creating “Landscapes” – both by using the local terroir in ingredients and echoing the landscape in the appearance of the dish.

He started by creating a parmesan cream with soy milk. (He uses soy milk to balance the fat.) This was then covered with a gelatin veil made from the juice of chard, aloe vera, and agar agar. He decorated the plate with the six types of basil – including lemon basil, purple basil, and sweet basil – along with pine nuts, diced apple, and parmesan frico. These decorations contribute a texture and flavor contrast, as well as create the landscape appearance.

Another interesting dish was Tea-Lacquered Foie Gras with Aloe Vera and Stevia Rebaudiana. Chef Dacosta said that he is not a fan of seared foie gras, because he doesn’t like the taste of burnt fat. Instead, he cooks it for 36 hours in a mixture of water, milk, and 30% salt, then roasts it in the oven with 50% steam to get a pudding texture. This is then paired with a powder of aloe vera and stevia leaves – a sweet plant that is frequently used as a sugar substitute by diabetics.

Martín Berasategui

Lasarte, San Sebastian
Martín Berasategui has earned almost every international culinary award, including 3 Michelin stars. In fact, the Basque area of Spain (where Berasategui has his eponymous restaurant) has the highest ratio of Michelin stars-to-population in the world. This is at least partially due to Chef Berasategui’s nurturing of young chefs, including Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz, and Josean Martínez Alija at the Guggenheim Bilbao.

Berasategui’s first dish was Cod Cheeks with Veil of Cockles and Herbaceous Peas. He began by sautéing the cockles in Txakoli, a sparkling white wine produced in his home town. As soon as they opened, he removed the cockles, and then reduced the juice down to one soupspoon. While that cooled, he sautéed the cod cheeks, releasing their natural gelatin. He further cooked down the cod cheek juice by half, added fresh young peas, and herbs and spooned it over the cockles. A video showed him creating a gelled veil with the cockle juice, which then was placed over the entire dish. Like many of the chefs at Spain’s 10, he decorated his plate with edible flowers.

Using the video, Chef Berasategui showed several other dishes, including sous-vide cooked lobe of foie gras, seasoned with salt and sugar, and served with horseradish cream, cauliflower and a shooter of liquefied Spanish red grapes.

Paco Torreblanca

Pastelería Totel, Alicante and Madrid
Paco Torreblanca is widely regarded as one of the best – if not the best – pastry chef in the world. His sons have similarly gained praise for their pastry skills. Yet many of Torreblanca’s techniques remain unknown to American diners. While he was on stage, the audience was held with rapt attention amid outbursts of applause.

A simple yet stunning technique involved pressing a rake-shaped mold into a pan of dried cornstarch, creating little divots or holes. He filled these holes with combination of simple sugar syrup and liquor – in this case he used beer but he said it could also be brandy, wine or vinegar. The pan was covered with more cornstarch, and left to rest for eight hours. He sifted the cornstarch to find the beads; their outsides had solidified, yet the interiors remained liquid.

Another show stopping technique involved melting isomalt sugar, and adding a small amount of water at the end of cooking. This sugar syrup was then poured over a small ring mold and allowed to dry for a minute, before Chef Torreblanca slowly picked up the mold. This created a gorgeous clear cylinder of sugar into which he could put ingredients like dried fruit or cake. He also demonstrated that putting a piece of fresh fruit into the mold immediately after the sugar, and pulling it without letting it dry, he could create a tear-dropped-shaped candy.