The Royal Academy of Gastronomy (RAG) celebrated its national awards last night at a gala in which the chefs from the Enjoy and Share restaurants, Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas and Eduard Xatruch, collected the award for Best Chef. "Creativity is the differentiating factor of our culinary proposal," said Xatruch. Sara Fort also received the award for her work in the room, Raúl Miguel Revilla won the Best Sommelier award, and Hilario Arbelaitz received the Todo Una Vida award, among others.
"These awards reflect the commitment and effort of the sector," said the president of the RAG, Luis Suárez de Lezo, during the 49th edition held yesterday at the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, where these awards were presented, recognizing the protagonists of "one of the economic engines of the country", and which were attended by the acting Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Héctor Gómez.
The chefs Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas and Eduard statements to the ACN, which considered it nice that all three were awarded at the same time, "because it shows that our philosophy is born with the word team."
The three chefs began their journey together 25 years ago, first at El Bulli alongside Ferran Adrià and, later, with their own proposals that have allowed them to grow until Barcelona's Enjoyr becomes the second best restaurant in the world according to The World's 50. Best. "We have always been very clear that unity is strength, and we have acted with a very clear way of understanding cooking, life and gastronomy," added Xatruch.
The first to take the stage was the Asturian José Luis Alonso, pastor and owner since he was 20 of the Uberdón cheese factory, located in the Picos de Europa national park, in Cangas de Onís (Asturias). This artisan was recognized with the Young Talent award and dedicated the award to his grandfather, who taught him to "respect" life in the countryside.
Then it was the turn of chef Hilario Arbelaitz, National Lifetime Award; Amaya Cervera, Award for Best Gastronomic Communication for her website Spanish Wine Lover; and Cordioprev (Reina Sofía University Hospital in Córdoba), Award for Gastronomic Research and Innovation for its study focused on the risk of recurrence of a cardiovascular episode and the Mediterranean diet.
Also receiving the award were sommelier Raúl Miguel Revilla, from the Zalacaín restaurant, and Sara Fort, from the Paco Roncero restaurant (Madrid), who won the award for Best Room Management for her dedication and care in ensuring that each service is excellent.
