Sinergia is the name chosen for the new line of nougats that Àngel Velasco presented yesterday afternoon at the attractive stand of the second Alimentaria pavilion occupied by Torrons Vicens. There, curious people approached who wanted to try and take photos with the renowned chefs who were debuting this new range of nougats with ingredients such as plankton, rice, pine and pine nuts, Moroccan lemons or cookies with ginger.
Synergy, a poster clarified, understood as “the action of two or more causes whose effect is greater than the sum of the individual effects.” And that is what Àngel Velasco recalled as the objective: “Seek complicities, explore new paths and unite the gastronomy and nougat tradition of Agramunt by adding talents.” To achieve this, he explained, “what better than through the landscapes that inspire the kitchens of some of the most creative chefs in the country.”
There they were, joking with their new contributions, Albert Adrià, who twelve years ago began that haute cuisine approach to Christmas sweets that Torrons Vicens has made an effort to de-seasonalize and who already collaborated to create four-handed nougat with his colleague Jose Andres. And now, with the new collection, the novelties of the chef of the Barcelona restaurant Enigma (cream and walnut and mandarin and yuzu nougat) have been added to those of Jordi Roca (creator of the sweet cuisine of the Celler de Can Roca), who presented five varieties.
Nougats inspired by their emblematic desserts such as Anarkia, Làctic or the Fires apple and others in the nougats that they themselves make at Christmas; those of Quique Dacosta, from the restaurant that bears his name in Denia (Alicante), inspired by his surroundings and emblematic dishes of his salty cuisine (such as Animated Forest) to create two very Mediterranean sweets; pine and pine nuts, and rice, orange and saffron. And Ángel León, who yesterday had to cancel the trip from Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, where Aponiente is located, due to an injury. His contribution is two bars, one with plankton and the other with Moroccan lemons.
There was no competitiveness among the superchefs, but complicity and a sense of humor, both when they were photographed together, each one showing off their creations, and when they gave their respective works a try to President Aragonès who tasted the desserts after having done the honors in other stands. The chefs admitted to feeling excited when they imagined that their creations would reach the Christmas tables of many homes. As much as Àngel Velasco seeing a succulent poster enlarged.
