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36. Gerry Dawes's Spain: An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel gerrydawesspain.com

"My good friend Gerry Dawes, the unbridled Spanish food and wine enthusiast cum expert whose writing, photography, and countless crisscrossings of the peninsula have done the most to introduce Americans—and especially American food professionals—to my country's culinary life. . .” - - Chef-restaurateur-humanitarian José Andrés, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Oscar Presenter 2019; Chef-partner of Mercado Little Spain at Hudson Yards, New York 2019

8/15/2017

More Travels in Spain with Gerry Dawes - A Magificent Series of Articles by Docsconz on A Week in The Heart of Spanish Iberian Pig Country

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The Art of The Iberian Pig – A Week in The Heart of Spanish Pork Country – Part 1 – Segovia and Avila


Gerry Dawes at Mesón de Candido doing what he does best

 Gerry Dawes at Mesón de Candido doing what he does best

 

My son, L.J. and I recently had the opportunity to experience this wonderland of pork up close and in a number of different ways. We flew to Madrid, where we met up with my good friend, “Mr. Spain,” also known as Gerry Dawes. I have been in awe of Gerry’s knowledge of Spain, its foodways, its wines, its culture and its people for some time and both my son and I have experienced first hand in Madrid, his exceptional range of contacts and knowledge. L.J. had also had the good fortune to have accompanied Gerry this past spring on a trip that encompassed parts of Catalunya and across northern Spain into Galicia on a wine-tasting expedition. Arriving early in the morning on an overnight flight from JFK, we took an inexpensive hotel room for a quick nap, shower and breakfast before meeting Gerry and picking up our rental car to head out to the nearby and beautiful city of Segovia, where several treats were awaiting us.

 

Click here to read the rest of Part 1 

 

The Art of The Iberian Pig – A Week in The Heart of Spanish Pork Country – Part 2 – Guijuelo

 

We had an appointment to visit one of the very best, Arturo Sanchez, at their production facility. We saw the production of lomo and jamones Ibericos de Bellota from the earliest post-mortem stages through consumption with the father-son team of Arturo and Ricardo Sanchez leading our personal tour and tasting. The products were sublime with the jamon, in particular, somehow becoming more and more delicious with each bite. It was a truly unique and special experience, from which much more will come to this blog.

 

Click here to read the rest of Part 2

 

Pursuing Porcine Perfection – Ibérico de Bellota- Part 3 – The Cure

 

Most connoisseurs know it to be one of the finest food products of any kind in the world, let alone the greatest of hams. Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, as it is known, comes from southwestern Spain, primarily from the regions of Extremadura and Andalucia, but with  a number of great jamónes made in Castilla y León, using Ibérico pigs raised in Andalucia. This winter, my son, L.J. Sconzo and I joined our good friend and Spanish culinary expert, Gerry Dawes, on a tour of these regions to see, sample and fully experience as much as we could about  this fantastic product. In previous posts, I highlighted the special diet of these special pigs in the oaken dehesas of southwestern Spain and then the process by which they are slaughtered and butchered. Here, I will relay the process of how these extraordinary hams and embutidos are made.

 

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Click here to read the rest of Part 3

 

Pursuing Porcine Perfection – Ibérico de Bellota- Part 4: Jamónes, Embutidos y Carnes

 

 Finishing the Iberico steaks on an open fire

 Finishing the Iberico steaks on an open fire

 

After our tour, we were directed to an even smaller nearby town to find a restaurant that served their product. The restaurant, called El Camino, served us both cured and fresh products from that facility. It was a welcoming place in the middle of the country and their dishes were quite delicious.

 

Sherry at Casa Bigote

 Manzanilla Sherry at Casa Bigote in Sanlúcar de Barrameda



From there, we entered a long drive down to Sanlúcar de Barrameda along the Quadalquivir River and the Atlantic Ocean in southern Andalucia, where we would have a brief respite from porcine products. This respite came in the name of Casa Bigote, a renowned seafood restaurant that serves nothing but locally fished seafood. Atmospheric to the extreme, we engaged in a fine tasting of the local specialties, which in addition to a variety creatures from the ocean, included a number of excellent local Manzanilla sherries that left us all in a happy and laughing mood.

 

The Art of The Iberian Pig – A Week in The Heart of Spanish Pork Country – Part 5 – Los Pedroches

 

We had one more day of pig ahead of us, but we had to get up and out early to do it. We left Sanlucar after breakfast driving east into a bright sun. We made our way up past Sevilla, then through Córdoba and into the hills and dehesa of Los Pedroches, a D.O. in northern Andalucia. It is a small D.O., but there is a lot of land devoted to the dehesa and a high concentration of pure Iberian pigs.

 

Iberian pigs on the move

Iberian pigs on the move

 

 Click here to read the rest of Part 5




Gerry Dawes can be reached at  gerrydawes@gmail.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@spanishartisanwine.com

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 Gastronomy Blogs
 About Gerry Dawes

 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. 

In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés

". . .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. 
 
Pilot for a reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 

8/14/2017

Madrid Arganzuela District (near Atocha station): Mercado de Santa Maria de la Cabeza & Bodegas Rosell


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I arrived in Madrid two days early before the Al Andalus Camino de Santiago Tren de Lujo trip, so that I wouldn’t be jet-lagged to begin the trip.  I stayed at the Hotel AC Atocha, just a few blocks from the Atocha station, where I had to catch the AVE train to Zaragoza, where we would begin our Al Andalus Camino de Santiago train journey.

Hotel AC Atocha is in the Arganzuela District of Madrid, about which, despite have been to Madrid literally more than one hundred times, I knew next to nothing, so I decided to explore the area on foot on my way to other endeavors.  I found two really noteworthy attractions to add to my Madrid portfolio: Bodegas Rosell, a wonderful old-time tapas bar and the fine Arganzuela market, El Mercado de Santa Maria de la Cabeza, a lively well-stocked barrio market. 


 
Another Madrid classic, near Atocha station. Bodegas Rosell, Arganzuela District. 
 Photo by Gerry Dawes©2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com. Canon EOS 6D / Canon 24 105mm f/4L IS USM. 


 
Slide Show Bodegas Rosell, Arganzuela. 

 
Tiled mural in a butcher shop, Mercado de Santa Maria de la Cabeza, Madrid Distrito de Arganzuela (near Atocha station), July 20, 2013.  
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com. Canon 5D Mark III / Canon 24 105mm f/4L IS USM. 

 
Chuletón de Ávila (prime rib steak from Ávila), Mercado de Santa Maria de la Cabeza, Madrid Distrito de Arganzuela (near Atocha station), July 20, 2013.  
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com. Canon 5D Mark III / Canon 24 105mm f/4L IS USM. 

 
Olive "pinchitos," olives cured in brine with pimientos, encircled by boquerones (fresh anchovies), Mercado de Santa Maria de la Cabeza, Madrid Distrito de Arganzuela (near Atocha station), July 20, 2013. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com. Canon 5D Mark III / Canon 24 105mm f/4L IS USM. 




Galician conservas, superb tinned and jarred Galician & Basque fish and shellfish, Mercado de Santa Maria de la Cabeza, Madrid Distrito de Arganzuela (near Atocha station), July 20, 2013. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com. Canon 5D Mark III / Canon 24 105mm f/4L IS USM. 


 
 Lomo Ibérico de bellota (loin of acorn-fed Ibérico pigs)--59.99 Euros per kilo (about $37 per lb.), Mercado de Santa Maria de la Cabeza, Madrid Distrito de Arganzuela (near Atocha station), July 20, 2013. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com. Canon 5D Mark III / Canon 24 105mm f/4L IS USM. 


 

Slide Show Mercado de Santa Maria de la Cabeza, Arganzuela District, Madrid 

____________________________________________________________________
About Gerry Dawes   

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.
 
Mr. Dawes is currently working on a reality television series
on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 
Experience Spain With Gerry Dawes: Customized Culinary, Wine & Cultural Trips to Spain & Travel Consulting on Spain  

Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@aol.com



The Docsconz Chronicles on Food, Wine Adventure Travels in Spain with Gerry Dawes


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Wining & Dining Around Spain with Gerry Dawes
A Six-part Chronicle
by John Sconzo 

Dr. John Sconzo, aka Docsconz, writes and photographs one of the most important gastronomy and travel blogs in the world.  John is indefatigable and covers more ground than anyone we know.  It has been a great privilege showing him Spain on multiple occasions.  This is just one of three extensive trips (and numerous shorter excursions) that we have taken together.

  

 Gerry Dawes, John Sconzo and Aldea Chef-owner George Mendes at Casa Botín, Madrid
(To read each full article, click on the link.)
 

I have said this before and I’ll say it again, nobody knows Spain like Gerry Dawes. I sincerely doubt that there is another American, and very few, if any, Spaniards can approach, let alone surpass his knowledge of the people, food, wine and culture of Spain."


Cgerry con una Caña y Fondillón  
Gerry con una caña y Fondillón at Bodegas Salvador Poveda, near Alicante.

Wining and Dining Around Spain with Gerry Dawes: Part 2 – Ribera del Duero & Rueda 

 With a four day stop in Madrid for Madrid Fusión 2015 now history, it was time to begin the next leg of the trip.  Galicia was the part of Spain that I hadn’t yet been to that I most wanted to visit. It would be the main focal point of the trip as we squeezed a ton of tasting both food and wine into a very abbreviated time frame. It would not be our first stop, however.

Wining and Dining Around Spain with Gerry Dawes: Part 3 – North By Northwest

I used to think way back when, that Spain was all about red wines, but then I had my first Spanish whites, which happened to be from Galicia. My view changed in a hurry and I came to realize that Spain is full of excellent white wines, yet, Galician whites remained my favorites.  

Wining and Dining Around Spain with Gerry Dawes: Part 4 – Rapturous Ribeira Sacra
 

Vineyards are inherently beautiful and I am never less than enthralled with a visit to one, but despite visits to gorgeous vineyards in France, Italy, Germany, the United States, Chile, South Africa and elsewhere in Spain, I was unprepared fo the unparalleled gorgeousness of Galicia’s mountainous Ribeira Sacra region.

 

  Gerry Dawes showing off one of his glorious wine finds Abaceria O Batuxo<br />
Club Fluvial de Belesar<br />
C/ Belesar, S/N<br />
27540 Belesar<br />
Lugo, Spain</p>
  

  Gerry Dawes showing off one of his wine finds

Wining and Dining Around Spain with Gerry Dawes: Part 5: Loving and Leaving Galicia


While I don’t know how the street food octopus was, I suspect it was pretty darn good. However, once again, Gerry knew what he was talking about. At the quaint, unadorned Pulperia El Dorado, the boiled pulpo Gallego was sublime and as delicious as I have ever had anywhere. Bathed in quality Spanish olive oil and pimentón, it was supremely tender and full of flavor. Snipped into manageable bites, I couldn’t resist going back for more and more. This is the kind of cooking one hopes to find along one’s travels – authentic, of the area, expertly prepared and consummately delicious – something that can’t quite be repeated as such anywhere else.  

 Pulpo Gallego at Pulperia El Dorado 

Pulpo a la Gallega at Pulperia El Dorado, O Barco de Valdeorras


Sunday nights in small town Spain are generally quiet affairs and it was no different in sleepy San Asensio as we followed our GPS through dark, empty streets and alleys to reach Bodegas Lecea, perched high on one of the area’s many hills, in what appeared to be one of the older areas of the town in a neighborhood called “Barrio de las Cuevas” or “Neighborhood of the Caves” named for the proliferation of wine caves underneath. We were greeted at the large, heavy door by Luis Alberto Lecea, the winemaker/owner of Bodegas Lecea, who escorted Gerry, Bill and I upstairs to a cozy, fire-warmed apartment at the back of the winery. Lecea was in the process of making dinner to share with us – a typical, delicious meal of tortilla Española with bread, embutidos, and, of course, wine. Posts with more trips with Gerry Dawes and Docsconz to follow. 

_______________________________________________________________________________  


 Gastronomy Blogs
 About Gerry Dawes

 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. 

In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés

". . .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. 
 
Pilot for a reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 

8/08/2017

A Taste of Northern Spain Tour Fall 2017 (October 25 - November 5, 2017) With Gerry Dawes, Premio Nacional de Gastronomía


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A Taste of Northern Spain Tour Fall 2017

With Gerry Dawes, Premio Nacional de Gastronomía

Wednesday, October 25 - Sunday, November 5, 2017  

Galicia - Asturias - Basque Country
Navarra - La Rioja - Madrid   

Gerry Dawes, John Sconzo and George Mendes at Casa Botín during Madrid Fusión 2013.  Photo by L. J. Sconzo.

Click here for Itinerary & more information 

8/07/2017

Horchata, Chufa de Valencia, Tigernuts, A Tuber Cultivated by the Ancient Egyptians and the Moors, Who Left an Enduring Legacy with This Drink Along the Mediterranean


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All photographs by Gerry Dawes©2017. 
(Publication prohibited without written permission.)

Chufas are now widely grown in the sandy soils of La Comunitat Valenciana and are used to the make the very popular milky-like drink, horchata de chufa, L'Orxatería, Mercat Central de Valencia.

Read the rest of the post on Horchata



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