Kohei Hatashita, chef who has represented Japan, has been the winner of the competition on the occasion of World Paella Day, which is celebrated in Valencia and around the world every September 20. In second place was the paella at the height of the Andes, represented by the chef Cristian Raúl Arroba, and in third place, the local rice and quail by Arturo Bedregal, who represented Colombia.
The winning recipe had as ingredients, in addition to rice, duck, orange and leek. The mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, and the Councilor for Tourism, Paula Llobet, among other authorities, were also present at the event, which was held in the Town Hall square.
The mayor stated that "today is the only day that we Valencians willingly accept not following the traditional recipe for paella but, nevertheless, we will continue teaching the traditional recipe, which is what corresponds to us." Catalá has stated that World Paella Day is a day to “show recognition and respect for a tradition that in this land is cared for by everyone and that must continue to be cared for.”
The day started at 10:00 am with the duels that pitted Poland against Ecuador, Italy against Colombia, India against Germany, Japan against Mexico, the USA against France and Morocco against Romania. In this fourth edition of the World Paella Day CUP, very curious versions of paellas have been cooked, inspired both by the different countries of origin of the participants and by the local product. An example is Transylvanian black truffles, pastrami, coconut milk, black garlic compote or Andean potatoes.
The jury for this international paella competition was made up of Juan Ramos Roda, head chef at Llisa Negra; Carmina Crespo, manager of L’Altet Restaurant and Wikipaella honorary distinction; Cristina Prados, BonAmb room manager and 2022 National Room Award winner; Yvonne Arcidiácono, sommelier and pit manager at Apicius; José Manuel Casañ, singer of the musical group Seguridad Social; Sam Giansante, representing Eric Gil - winner of the World Paella Day Cup 2022 (who for personal reasons was unable to attend) and Juani Kittlein, runner-up of the same year.
The World Paella Day aims to give visibility and the recognition that Valencian gastronomy deserves and, specifically, its most international dish. This is an initiative promoted by the Valencia City Council, through Visit València, Turisme Comunitat Valenciana, the Provincial Council of Valencia, through Turisme València, and Turespaña. The initiative has the collaboration of FEHV, Arròs de València D.O, Wikipaella and Concurs Internacional de Paella Valenciana de Sueca.
