Alicante Gastronómica closes its fifth edition and does so with a new and original competition: the first Spanish Tortilla Championship with... Fifteen chefs from different regions of Spain have been subjected to the expert scrutiny of palates as illustrious as those of Quique Dacosta, Susi Díaz, Paco Torreblanca, Kiko Moya or Rafael García Santos.
The winner, Alejandro Oliveira, from La Falda de Lavapiés (Madrid), has made a Betanzos omelette with turnip greens and chorizo onion from Lalín.
The first four finishers will participate in the XVII Spanish Potato Omelette Championship in 2024. Oliveira will be accompanied by Celia Clara Correia, from La Teulada (Elx), who has presented a potato omelet with onion and pepper, smoked bacon and chutney of mango; Third prize went to Raúl Rubio, from Txiki Bar y Tortillería (Vitoria-Gasteiz), with a blue potato omelette; and the fourth was Ricardo Martín, from Hotel Montemoso (Aranda de Duero), who presented a potato omelette with Burgos blood sausage and red pepper.
Alejandro Oliveira, from La Falda (Madrid), has conquered a jury that has deliberated conscientiously. In fact, it was difficult for him to break the tie between the creations of the first two winners, between whom there was only 12 points of difference.
The objective has been, as the organization explains, to promote diversity and tortillerias, as typical establishments in the country, with a diverse offering, aimed at heterogeneous audiences. The importance that Alicante Gastronómica gives to this dish is demonstrated by the celebration, on this last day, of the II National Congress of Potato Tortilla promoted by the critic Rafael García Santos.
The contest sought to offer a culinary alternative to the "hodgepodge" of stuffed ones, limiting the accompaniment's prominence to no more than 20% of the total potato omelette. "It's about maintaining the structure of the various potato tortillas in the country: illustrating them and not minimizing them with exaggerated flourishes," they tell us.
On this last day, Greek wines and oils, a guest country in this edition, have revealed their aromas to round off this experience of international gastronomic exchange. Both products have been present in the Origen and Prestige rooms, which have hosted tastings and presentations of both Greek oil and wines, but also cheeses and olives, among other native Greek products.
The sommelier Constantinos Kotropoulos, with more than 20 years of experience in Greece, Spain, the United Kingdom and Brazil, was in charge of closing these presentations with a tasting of Greek wines that they also wanted to accompany with a delicious presentation of D.O. olives. Kalamata and Thassos and Kalamata Greek olive oils. Konstantinos Vassalos, a Greek cuisine professional who has worked in Paris, Tokyo and Barcelona, was also able to cook in front of the public and delight those in attendance with Greek dishes.
The tastings of feta cheese rolls, yogurt with sweets, the sweet Bougatsa from Thessaloniki, Dolmadakia with yogurt sauce, Greek Gruyere cheese from Epirus, tzatziki and Kalamata olives, among other creations, have put a lot of flavor on the palate of the thousands of visitors that Alicante Gastronomic 'Mediterranean Soul' has received.
