Gastronomy, science and the primary sector come together for three days with the sea of Tenerife as background. It will be from Monday to Wednesday of next week within the framework of the V Meeting of the Seas. Five chefs, totaling ten Michelin stars, will be present at a conference with a prologue next Sunday in Puerto de la Cruz through kilometer 0 products. On Monday, the Auditorium will host the theoretical part, while Tuesday and Wednesday the participants will move to Costa Adeje for practices, including sailing. It is worth noting the presence of chefs of the prestige of Ángel LionQuique Dacosta or Andoni Aduriz and in the field of science mention Alexandra Cousteau, the third generation of a pioneering family in the defense of the oceans and underwater life – a task started by her grandfather Jacques – who will receive the Sartún Prize.
The vice president of the Cabildo de Tenerife and councilor for Tourism, Lope Afonso, and the councilor for the primary sector, Valentín gonzalez, presented the fifth edition of this prestigious congress. Afonso and González were accompanied by the CEO of Tenerife Tourism, David Pérez, and the general director of Vocento Gastronomía, Benjamín Lana. Under the generic motto Conserving or Conservation, the conference will analyze, hand in hand with chefs and scientists, the challenges for the conservation of the oceans and seafood in the next decade. In a double sense. Conservationist in terms of biodiversity and regarding the gastronomic world on the products that come out of our sea (canned, salted, frozen,,,).
Lope Afonso highlighted the importance of the tourism-gastronomy pairing, “associated with the concept of sustainability”. Afonso -in a structural line of uniting tourism with sectors like this, culture or sport- pointed out that “this gastronomic congress is an opportunity to position Tenerife as a destination associated with great experiences, as well as a benchmark in the field international tourism, providing added value and profitability to our main industry”. She valued “the fortune” of picking up the baton for a project that the previous government worked on – hence the presence of David Pérez -, a “model transition” that Lana highlighted. He explained that the congress allows chefs of international prestige to contribute, through their work, to raising awareness about the situation of the oceans. In addition to offering the opportunity to connect the primary sector and tourism.
Benjamín Lana, in addition to highlighting the rise of the so-called blue tourism, revealed a calculated impact of the congress in 150 countries and on 270 million people without starting. He did not forget the 1.5 million euros of economic return. He summed it up; “In Tenerife we consolidated and from now on we will play in the Major Leagues.”
For his part, the councilor for the primary sector, Valentín González, claimed his role to “value the local product, and more specifically the fishing industry.” He highlighted the condition of artisanal fishing in the Canary Islands and Tenerife and ratified the “intact” commitment with the ten guilds of Tenerife.
David Pérez, for his part, assured that “the objective is to give visibility to our Island as a high-quality gastronomic destination and a future model of success.”
portuense and popular prologue
Next Sunday, as a prologue to the opening of the congress on Monday (09:00 am) at the Auditorio de Tenerife, a popular gastronomic day is scheduled on Avenida de Martiánez, in Puerto de la Cruz. The products of the sea will be protagonists between 11:30 and 17:30. Local chefs Víctor Suárez and Lucas Maes will offer some of their culinary excellence at popular prices.
One of the most important events on the program will be the union, for the first time on the island, of five of the most renowned chefs in our country to cook together. It will be at the closing dinner of the day on Wednesday on the terrace of the Poseidón Restaurant in Costa Adeje. The already confirmed chefs, Quique Dacosta, Albert Adriá, Ángel León and Erlantz Gorostiza, are joined at the last minute by the Asturian Nacho Manzano who will pair the limpets that are cooked in both geographical spaces. In addition to other renowned chefs such as the Portuguese Rui Paula, the Chilean Lorna Muñoz or the Sardinian Luigi Pomata.
The scientific side
The congress will also bring together an important representation of scientists linked to the sea such as Alexandra Cousteau, who will also receive the Sartún Prize; Mina Epps, one of the world’s leading specialists in marine biodiversity; and Ralph Chami, former assistant director of the International Monetary Fund.
A phrase from Benjamín Lama is a good summary of the essential support for all this to work for the fishing sector in a land that is at the tail end of consumption despite its condition as islands: “You have to eat fresh fish that is healthier and tastier ».
