GOURMET’S CHOICE: THE POST AVANT- GARDE MADRID FUSION 2016

A sinful gold-wrapped Berasategui confection

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by  Margaux Cintrano
Photos supplied by M. Cintrano

At 11.00 a.m. on January 25th, 2016 the Homage to the Sugar Arts Revolution in Spain held court in the Auditorium, featuring some of the Iberian Peninsula´s greatest pastry chefs and chocolate-makers.  The star sweet tooth pleasure-makers were all on hand conjuring up all types of amazing sugar and chocolate sinful sensations: 7 Michelin Star Chef Martin Berasategui; Chocolatier and Pastry Chef Paco Torre La Blanca;  Multi Michelin Pastry & Dessert Chef Jordi Roca; the renowned Chocolate Designer Oriol Balaguer; and Michelin Culinary Artist & Pastry Chef Albert Adria.

Chefs Albert Adria, Martin Berasategui, Alex Atala and gang

To move on, the guest country for 2016, was Thailand. Thailand was featuring its wild exotic fruits and flowers with samples, explanations on their health benefits and the vast varieties and instructions on how to employ them in one´s diet and how to decorate one´s plates. Names like DURIAN, LONGAN, RAMBUTAN and LYCHEE are just a few of the uncountable tropical fruits grown in the Golden Kingdom called Suvarinabhumi, in Sanskrit, which denotes a land rich in, and blessed with, natural resources.  The tasting included uncountable exotic fruit juices and teas. Here are just a few of the amazingly sublime delicacies I had sampled:

DORIAN:   This fruit is sweet, rich in flavor and is a good source of energy, imparting an enormous amount of calcium. Almost appearing like a cross between a cactus and a pineapple, its flesh is smooth yellow and it possesses a rich creamy flavor and is quite aromatic.

LONGHAN:  The white flesh of this fruit is high in sugar and contains calcium and phosphorous.  It looks somewhat like a white and spotted golf ball, and is a sub- tropical variety. Its exterior has a tinged rose hue.

RAMBUTAN:  This medium sized delicacy has a red oval shape hairy cactus-like exterior with a  milky white fleshy interior known for its use in treating diarrhea and stomach cramps.  It is high in Vitamin C.

LYCHEE:  This deep crimson rose red fruit with a lightly rough exterior, with a marshmallow white interior,  is the best known. It is highly sweet and yet thirst quenching and extraordinarily high in Niacin,  B1 and B2 vitamins.  It is a healer in poor digestive ailments.

Forging ahead, after a lovely lunch sampling provided by The Hotel Parador Network, I attended The Presentation and Exhibition Dialogues with the Vanguard Americans, which presented Multi Michelin Star Chefs Daniel Humm,  Grant Achatz, José Andrés and Will Guidara of 3 Michelin Star Restaurant Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan.

random samples

CHEFS MARTIN BERASATEGUI AND DANIEL HUMM’S SINFUL SENSATIONS AT MADRID FUSION 2016

Berasategui: Foie Ravioli

Humm’s Watermelon Salad

Berasategui: Wild Sea Bass with Shrimp

Berasategui: Octopus Clusters

Humm’s 3-Fruit and Foie Wafer

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