On the way to chef Quique Dacosta's restaurant, Arros QD, in the heart of London, we passed several taxis with the iconic image of the Ciutat de les Arts de València vinyled on their doors. We also walked by several street food stalls where, almost unexpectedly, we discovered an almost orthodox rice, which only lacks the beans to be a paella.
Undoubtedly rice, and the succulent ways of preparing it in the Valencian Community, is one of the Valencian claims to attract British tourists. This without ever denying that, with the Mediterranean landscape, especially with the sun and the beach, it is difficult not to convince.
From the sum of these bonanzas, the Valencian Community has made a flag, within the framework of the World Travel Market fair, which this Tuesday added to its offer the celebration in June in Valencia of the Gala of the 50 best restaurants in the world . The announcement was made yesterday, in the upper room of Dacosta's London restaurant, by Tim Brooke-Web, director of 50 Best, who explained that the event will involve both "creating relationships around food and knowing the ranking itself."
Around the meeting, Brooke-Web explained, there will be an idea leadership forum in which chefs from around the world will talk about challenges in the sector, events in which international chefs will cook with local chefs to offer "unique culinary experiences" and there will also be They will get into the kitchen with gastronomy students.
The gala and all the parallel actions will be organized in collaboration between the Generalitat Valenciana -through Turisme Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia Turisme and Turismo Valencia. "València does not want borders with the United Kingdom, it wants to intensify its ties", said the Deputy Mayor of Valencia, Sandra Gómez, during the presentation.
The president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, pointed out in the “temple dedicated to rice” that the Valencian event will be “the best edition you have had in your club”. The event did not miss the Dénia chef, who minutes before welcomed journalists and guests with a friendly "here is your home in London".
After a promotional video of the city, Dacosta pointed out that "we want to dignify and take the most important dish of Spanish cuisine, Valencian paella, around the world", the motivation behind his restaurant, which opened four years ago in London.
First it was the Michelin Gala, in December 2021, of which Dacosta was gastronomic director; in February the Soles Repsol will be awarded in Alicante and in June there will be an appointment that will bring together the best chefs in Valencia.
“We can now shout to the world that the 50 Best gala is going to be held in València”, celebrated Dacosta, who valued the understanding of the institutions -“and of the people”- to manage to take the event to the cap i casal giving thus value to the gastronomic industry.
Before the gastronomic event, President Ximo Puig had met in London with Adam Browne, producer of the film and television company King Bert Productions. The objective is to promote the City of Light in Alicante, the film studios that Puig trusts can be the "economic engine" of Alicante.
"We are in a good moment because now in Great Britain there is a boom in production and they have told us that they are looking for studios, landscapes and stories outside this territory," explained Puig, who agreed at the meeting that in the coming days - "before before the end of the year”- there will be an official visit of producers to the Alicante facilities.
In his attention to the media, Puig acknowledged that the facilities have suffered from the neglect of a decade in disuse, but he bet that the most important thing is to incorporate more human resources into the space to contribute to its "renaissance".
At the meeting, reference was also made to the artisanal experience of falleros and foguerers artists for the construction of sets, as well as the promotion of FP in the educational centers of the Valencian Community.
