Insights, information and photographs about Spanish gastronomy, wine, culture and customized tours to Spain, where the author has been traveling for over 30 years. Content comes from articles, books-in-progress and travel notebooks of award-winning writer-photographer Gerry Dawes. All posts and photographs are copyrighted and reproduction is prohibited without written permission and author credit.
(Double click on the images for an enlarged version.)
I am in Madrid and another adventure begins. Last night, I went to the newly renovated Mercado de San Miguel, next to the Plaza Mayor. It has been converted into one big tapas bar prowl with an oyster bar, a cheese counter, another specializing in jamòn Ibèrico and CUNE wines, a pastry shop, a sushi counter and more. It is like a miniature, upscale Boqueria, sexy, but a quite a bit yuppieville. Lots of young people. I took a lot of shots of a guy eating at the bar alone, devouring an entire plate of cigalas (Dublin Bay prawns), by himself. Didn't take him long either.
Gerry Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià.
". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009.
Mr. Dawes is currently working on a reality television series
This influential annual three-day forum on world cuisines is one of the American foodservice industry's premier events. Each November, the Worlds of Flavor Conference showcases the gold standards of world cuisines that are reshaping American menus. The 12th Annual Worlds of Flavor Conference presented an in-depth exploration of two overlapping, hot culinary trends: world street food and world comfort food. Reflecting the intersection of recessionary budget and cost-cutting pressures, the continuing world cuisines juggernaut, and the ongoing embrace of a 24/7 culture of informal, casual food and dining, these concepts increasingly define how we as Americans now want to eat.
"Frontiers of Flavor: World Street Food, World Comfort Food," gathered top culinary talent from the Mediterranean, Asia, Latin America and the United States. Presenters included more than 60 culinary experts, from street food vendors, hawker chefs, tapas and meze specialists, and barbecue masters to fine dining chefs who have been inspired by world street foods and comfort foods, mothers of chefs, legends of live fire and claypot cooking, as well as cookbook authors, street food chroniclers, and more.
Highlighted regions and food cultures included Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, India, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Persia, Mexico, the Caribbean, Peru, Brazil, and culinary hot spots across the United States.
The three-day event was a sauce-slopping, noodle-slurping, chaat-sampling, kabob-nibbling, tamale-savoring, tapas-grazing epic tour of the best of world street food and world comfort food!
Gerry Dawes moderated one general session, three panels on Spanish and Catalan Cuisine and appeared in the final general session as a commentator.
Profiles of the participants, photos and some recipes for the Spanish sections of the Worlds of Flavor Conference will follow.
Friday, November 13 10:30 AM General Session VI
What’s Next in Spain: Fast, Slow, and Casual Flavors Introduction: Jim Poris Moderator: Gerry Dawes Presenters: Paco Roncero, Albert Asín, Daniel Olivella, Seamus Mullen With a live video feed from the outdoor live fire kitchen previewing lunch with Mai Pham (Vietnamese food) and Suvir Saran (Indian food).
CIA-Greystone (Napa Valley) Worlds of Flavor Conference 2009 General Session VI: What's Next in Spain: Fast, Slow and Casual Flavors.
(For a full screen slide show, click on image in lower right corner, go to Picasa, click on slide show, then F11.)
Seminar IV A (2:45 PM—3:45 PM)
Williams Center for Flavor Discovery The Spanish Kitchen, 2010: Casual Menus—and Compelling Flavor Dynamics— from Madrid to New York Moderator: Gerry Dawes Presenters: Paco Roncero, Seamus Mullen Sponsored by Foods from Spain
(Check out my friend, Chef Seamus Mullen of New York's Boqueria restaurants, in his reports on the Iron Chef competition, in which he was one of the final three chefs left (out of ten) competing for the title. I found out Sunday night that Seamus was eliminated, but he made it to the final three and he did it suffering the whole time from a severely herniated disk, for which he was sometimes in a wheelchair and for which he was operated on after the competition, and from rheumatoid arthritis. In some of the episodes, you could see the pain in his face! Iron Chef, indeed.)
Saturday, November 14 Seminar I (8:45 AM—9:45 AM)
Ecolab Theater
Spanish Casual, from Traditional to Modern: Tapas, Bocadillos, Cocas, and More
Moderator/Presenter: Gerry Dawes
Presenters: Paco Roncero, Seamus Mullen, Albert Asin
World Flavors…On a Stick, In a Bowl, On the Run…A Game Changer?
Moderator: Greg Drescher Presenter: Jonathan Gold Panelists: Rick Bayless, Roy Choi, Gerry Dawes, John T. Edge, Susan Feniger, Mark Furstenberg, Jonathan Gold, Jessica Harris, Anissa Helou, Diane Kochilas, Maricel Presilla, Jim Poris, Ruth Reichl, K.F. Seetoh, Suvir Saran
Gerry Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand prize in 2009 and received the Association of Food Journalists 2009 Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià.
Mr. Dawes is currently working on a reality television serieson wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
La Tienda: The Best in Food Products, Ceramics, Cooking Implements, Cookbooks and More From Spain
(Click on the banner for the best from Spain, along with colorful descriptions of La Tienda's producers and products from La Tienda owner Don Harris's travels in Spain.)
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