The flavor, the aroma, and of course the quality of its ingredients made the La cantina de Villalegre restaurant, in Avilés, win first prize in the Best Fabada in the World contest, held this Tuesday in Villaviciosa, Asturias. The establishment managed to win the final of the competition against 29 other competitors, six of them from outside Asturias.
The Patio Lounge, in Yeles, Toledo, and Casa Eladia, in Villaviciosa, respectively occupied second and third place on the podium during the fourteenth edition of this contest.
After being awarded the first prize, the owner of La cantina de Villalegre, Pilar Meana, assured that she was not expecting this recognition. “The award comes home, how nice!” The winner said that she had been competing in the contest for three years. In the 2023 edition, the first prize had gone to the Mesón Sidrería Arturo in Madrid. In honor of traditional cuisine, Maena prepares her fabada in a railway pot, “in the heat of charcoal and tradition,” and it takes approximately five hours of cooking over low heat.
The award for best compango (the chorizo, blood sausage and bacon that accompany the beans in the traditional Asturian recipe) went to Sidrería Román, from Gijón. Its owner, hotelier Román Gutiérrez, is no stranger to recognition. 2023 had already won the award for the “best pot” in Asturias.
The jury in this edition has been chaired by chef Jesús Sánchez, head of the three-star restaurant Cenador de Amós, in Villaverde de Pontones (Cantabria). Sánchez acknowledged that he has been very struck by how diverse the fabada recipes can be, compared to the ideal that those who come from outside have. “The key to fabada is in an entire gastronomic tradition of a territory, in a way of treating sausages,” said Sánchez. “When tested individually, many good fabadas can be detected throughout the Asturian territory.”
The Asturian chefs Pedro Morán (Casa Gerardo, with a Michelin Star), Luis Alberto Martínez (Casa Fermín) and Joaquina Rodríguez (Casa Chema) were part of the jury. For his part, Morán emphasized that the fundamental ingredient responsible for much of the success that the fabada can achieve is, without a doubt, the blood sausage. This sausage is what delivers “that flavor, that sweetness, that faba smoke, which absorbs those smoky and sweet touches that the onion has.”
Every year, the Best Fabada in the World contest brings together chefs and food lovers with the aim of celebrating and promoting the flavor of the classic Asturian dish. The event seeks to highlight the cultural and gastronomic richness of the region and put faba, its most emblematic product, in the foreground. Obtaining this distinction benefits not only the establishments that participate, but also promotes the Asturian gastronomic tradition at a national level.
