Kukuxumusu's Mikel Urmeneta at Instituto Cervantes New York

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Kukuxumusu logo. Kukuxumusu means "kiss of the flea" (flea bite) in Basque. Oct. 28, 2011. 

Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

Pamplona native Mikel Urmeneta, Kukuxumusu, at Instituto Cervantes in New York City, where he gave a presentation of his famous designs for Kukuxumsu, which means "kiss of the flea" (flea bite) in Basque.  
Oct. 28, 2011.  Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

Halloween costumes for bulls.  Kukuxumusu drawing shown during 

Kukuxumusu Partner-Designer Mikel Urmeneta's presentation at Insituto Cervantes.

Oct. 28, 2011.  Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.


Javier Rioyo, then Director of the Instituto Cervantes, introduced Mikel Urmeneta of Kukuxumusu. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

Slide show of Mikel Urmeneta's presentation at Instituto Cervantes.
All Kukuxumusu images ©2011.
Photos by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

Basque Tourism Event with Wynton Marsalis & Teresa Barrenechea at Guastavino in NYC, Oct. 20, 2011

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Cookbook-author and chef Teresa Barrenechea, Master of Ceremonies and jazz musician Wynton Marsalis 

at the Basque Country promotional event last night at Guastavino in NYC. 

Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

Last night at Guastavino in New York City, The Basque Government (of Spain) presented a Basque tourism video, a fashion show dedicated to Getaria-born designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, a pintxos-tapas (with nearly fifty different Basque specialites) and a tasting of txacolis and Rioja Alavesa wines and music and by Basque folkloric performers, including a txistulari (flute and drum player).

Txistulari (txistu = flute), flauta y tambor (flute and drum) player at the Basque Country event last night 
at Guastavino in NYC. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

The event's Master of Ceremonies was Chef-author Teresa Barrenechea (The Basque Table) and jazz star Wynton Marsalis, who has appeared frequently at the Vitoria Jazz Festival, spoke on behalf of the Basque Country.  

Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and cookbook-author and chef Teresa Barrenechea, 

Master of Ceremonies at the Basque Country event last night at Guastavino in NYC. 

Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

Also spotted at the event were star chefs Juan Mari Arzak (Restaurante Arzak) and Andoni Aduriz (Mugaritz), Kukuxumuzu tee-shirt tycoon Mikel Urmeneta, Instituto Cervantes President Javier Rioyo, Íñigo Ramírez de Haro, Consulate General of Spain for Cultural Affairs, and Terry Zarikian, Director of Product Development for Jeffrey Chodorow’s China Grill Management Group and Creative Director of Bar Basque in Manhattan.

Two-star Basque chef Andoni Aduriz of Mugaritz near San Sebastián with Kay Balun 
at the Basque Country event last night at Guastavino in NYC. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

Slide show on the Basque event at Guastavino.
(Double click to enlarge.)

Gerry y Sus Amigos (A one- minute trailer in Spanish filmed in The Basque Country for a proposed television series in Spain).

_________________________________________________________________________________  

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. 

 

Trailer for a proposed 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; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@gmail.com

The Best of the Great Basque Three-Star Chef Martín Berasategui's Cuisine, at Bar Basque, Monday, Oct. 17, 2011.

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Martín Berasategui at the Basque Country promotional luncheon, 

The Best of Martín Berasategui's Cuisine, at Bar Basque, Monday, Oct. 17, 2011.  

Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 /  gerrydawes@aol.com.

From pintxos-tapas using Basque products to a six-course retrospective, The Basque Country sponsored Best of Martín Berasategui's Cuisine at the Bar Basque was a tour-de-force, executed beautifully by Chef Berasategui and his pick-up crew in the kitchen.  The pintxos were delicious and the luncheon featured dishes from 2011 back to 1995 (the brilliant Bersategui signature dish of puff pastry layered with foie gras, smoked eel, spring onions and green apple), was as good as an out-of-house sit-down luncheon gets.  The dishes were paired to Basque Country wines such as Txomín Etxaniz Txacolí 2010 and Marqués de Riscal Reserva (Rioja Alavesa) from the great 2001 vintage. 

Slide show on The Best of Martín Berasategui's Cuisine luncheon at the Bar Basque.
(Double click on images to enlarge.)

In attendance were several dignitaries from the Basque Country, including Basque lehendakari (prime minister/president), Patxi López; Joxe Mari Aizega, Director of the Basque Culinary Center (BCC) in San Sebastián (a new exchange agreement between BCC and The Culinary Institute of America was signed Monday evening); and three-star chef Juan Mari Arzak, the godfather of modern Basque and Spanish cuisine.  Other distinguished culinarians and dignataries spotted were author and television personality Anthony Bourdain, International Wine Cellar wine critic Josh Raynolds, Instituto Cervantes President Javier Rioyo, Culinary Event Stager Mike Cimino, Food Arts Managing Editor Beverly Stephen, former elBulli stagiere Najat Kanaache (who assisted Chef Berasategui) and Wunderkind aspirant chef Greg Grossman.

Mike Cirino, events specialist, and Greg Grossman, aspirant chef 
at the Basque promotional luncheon at Bar Basque in Manhattan on Oct. 17, 2011.
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

There was also a show of Basque food products and wines featuring such products as Idiazabal cheese, squid ink and squid ink sauce from Nortindal Seafood Products, bacalao from La Bacalandera, Alkorta and Giraldo, surimi and faux angulas from Angulas Arguinaga, Agiña Piperrak's Ibarra guindillas (long thin piquant chartreuse peppers that are an indispensable condiment for Basque bean dishes),  Zallo tuna, Hijos de José Serrats tuna, Corpa anchovies and turron from Gorrotxategi.  

 

Slide show on Basque products (Double click to enlarge.)

Gerry y Sus Amigos (A one- minute trailer in Spanish filmed in 

The Basque Country for a proposed television series in Spain).

__________________________________________________________________________________  

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. 

 

Trailer for a proposed 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; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@gmail.com