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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

Showing posts with label Juan Mari Arzak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juan Mari Arzak. Show all posts

6/12/2018

Lisa Abend's Article on Fish Foam and Spherified Mango Juice: Will Spanish avant-garde cuisine stand the test of time? (Slate 2008)


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"In a recent e-mail, Gerry Dawes, an American expert on Spanish food and wine, wrote, "I am getting a little weary of the Catalan-driven techno-cuisine. Many of these 'experiments' would be better off if they didn't show up anywhere but at chefs' conferences." His words sum up the critical attitude: It was fun at first, but enough with the chemistry kit! I'd like some real food now, please."  Lisa Abend, Fish Foam and Spherified Mango Juice: Will Spanish avant-garde cuisine stand the test of time?  (Slate 2008)


 Gerry Dawes with Juan Mari Arzak and Ferran Adrià in New York.
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 Gastronomy Blogs
 About Gerry Dawes

Gerry Dawes is the Producer and Program Host of Gerry Dawes & Friends, a weekly radio progam on WPWL 103.7 FM Pawling Public Radio in Pawling, New York.

  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.
 

2/20/2017

Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017: More Photos of the 15th Anniversary Edition, January 23-25, 2017


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Myriam López, GrupoGourmets-Salón de Gourmets, with legendary chef Juan Mari Arzak (Arzak) at Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017.  Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017 #amf17

 Long-time friend Fernando Gurucharri, President of the Union de Catadores Españoles (Union of Spanish Winetasters), at the tasting of 11 historic vintages going back more than 30 years of D. O. Ribera del Duero wines at Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017 on Jan. 24, 2017.   Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017.


Galician Chef Pepe Solla of Casa Solla, Poio (Pontevedra), Galicia demonstrated lampreia eel cooking at a demonstration at Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017, Jan 25, 2017.  There is a cult-like devotion among some groups, mostly men, who make piligrimages to spot on the Miño River, the border between Spain and Portugal, when the eel are available around this time of year.

 Chef Juan Cruz (Saborea España) and Matilde Asián González, Secretaria de Estado de Turismo at Saborea España, Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017, Palacio de Congresos, Madrid.  Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017 #amf17

 Chef Elena Arzak (Arzak) and Albert Raurich (Dos Pebrots, Barcelona) at Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017.  Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017 #amf17 


Gerry Dawes and long-time friend, champion cortador de jamones (professional hand-slicer of Ibérico hams) Florencio Sanchidrián at Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017, Palacio de Congresos, Madrid.

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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.
 

1/26/2017

Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017 in Photographs / Images From The 15th Anniversary Edition of One of the World's Greatest Gastronomic Conferences Day One, January 23, 2017


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 Star chef Juan Mari Arzak (Arzak), Esmeralda Capel (Directora Asisa Madrid Fusión) and Albert Adrià (Tickets, Enigma, Bodega 1900 and more) on stage during the 15th Anniversary Madrid Fusión celebration, Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017.  #amf17 #arzak #albertadria

 (L to R, faces visible) Star chefs Angel de León (Aponiente), Juan Mari Arzak (Arzak), Pedro Larumbe (Restaurante El 38 de Larumbe), María José San Román Pérez (Monastrell), Joan Roca (Celler de Can Roca), Quique Dacosta (Quique Dacosta), Andoni Aduriz (Mugaritz), Martín Berasategui (Martín Berasategui) and Esmeralda Capel (Directora Asisa Madrid Fusión) on stage during the 15th Anniversary Madrid Fusión celebration, Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017. #QuiqueDacosta #amf17

 Star chefs Pedro Larumbe (Restaurante El 38 de Larumbe), Ángel León (Aponiente), María José San Román (Monastrell) and Joan Roca (Celler de Can Roca) on stage waiting to be interviewed during the 15th Anniversary Madrid Fusión celebration, Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017.  Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017.

 Star Chef Joan Roca (three-star El Celler de Can Roca) on stage by the Madrid Fusión 15th Anniversary celebration cake made by star pastry chef Paco Torreblanca, at Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017.  Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017 #amf17


 (L to R, faces visible) Star chefs Angel de León (Aponiente), Juan Mari Arzak (Arzak), Pedro Larumbe (Restaurante El 38 de Larumbe), María José San Román Pérez (Monastrell), Joan Roca (Celler de Can Roca), Quique Dacosta (Quique Dacosta), Andoni Aduriz (Mugaritz), Martín Berasategui (Martín Berasategui) and Esmeralda Capel (Directora Asisa Madrid Fusión) on stage during the 15th Anniversary Madrid Fusión celebration, Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017. #QuiqueDacosta #amf17
 
 Star chefs Andoni Aduriz (Mugaritz) and Andoni Aduriz (Mugaritz), Martín Berasategui (Martín Berasategui) and Esmeralda Capel (Directora Asisa Madrid Fusión) on stage during the 15th Anniversary Madrid Fusión celebration, Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017. #Mugaritz #martinberasategui #amf17

 
Star chefs Martín Berasategui (Martín Berasategui) and Albert Adrià (Tickets, Enigma, Bodega 1900 and more)  on stage during the 15th Anniversary Madrid Fusión celebration, Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017.  #amf17 #martinberasategui #albertadria
 
 My dear friend Marco Sabatini, truffles expert, on screen in a video commemorating the 15th Anniversary of Madrid Fusión at Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017, Palacio de Congresos, Madrid, Jan. 23, 2017.  Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017 #amf17

 Legendary elBulli Chef-owner Ferran Adrià (who was noticably absent in person) in a video commemorating the 15th Anniversary of Madrid Fusión at Asisa Madrid Fusión 2017, Palacio de Congresos, Madrid, Jan. 23, 2017.  Photo by Gerry Dawes©2017 #amf17
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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. 

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 &riane 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.
 

2/16/2016

Looking Back: Food Arts Magazine Silver Spoon Award Ferran Adrià, Juan Mari Arzak July 2003


Ferran Adrià.

Ferran Adrià, Juan Mari Arzak

by Gerry Dawes / July 2003 

Food Arts presents the July/August 2003 Silver Spoon Award for plata de ley performance to two Spaniards, Basque chef Juan Mari Arzak, the Wilbur Wright of modern Spanish Cuisine, and Ferran Adrià, the Catalan wizard who has taken Spanish food into the culinary stratosphere. Arzak, chef/owner of the Michelin three-star Arzak in San Sebastián, is revered as the father of Spanish cucina nueva vasca (new Basque cuisine), a cooking doctrine that was the vital bridge between traditional Spanish food and an internationally oriented modern cuisine. Adrià, chef/partner of the now mythical Michelin three-star El Bulli, which overlooks an isolated seaside cove two hours north of Barcelona, is widely considered to be the most innovative, creative, original, and, to some, best chef in the world.

The 60-something Arzak and 40-year old Adrià have led the dizzying ascendancy of Spanish gastronomy to the point where a growing number of savvy culinary professionals, including envious Frenchmen, now consider Spanish chefs to be the most exciting in Europe. Arzak is not alone in believing that "at this moment, Spain has one of the most important cuisines in the world." On these pilgrimages to see the two maestros and other great Spanish chefs, many culinarians have also discovered the glories of traditional Spanish cuisine; thus, Arzak and Adrià have helped raise all boats in their wake.

Arzak was born in the building that houses Arzak (once his family's tavern/restaurant). He learned the basics at his mother's side and, through intelligence and imagination, elevated his family's restaurant to the Michelin three-star pantheon in 1989. With his daughter Elena in the kitchen alongside him, Arzak adds twists to traditional Basque dishes such as ventresca de bonito, lightly smoked cuts of choice bonito belly speared with a mentholated bone. El Viejo Rockero (The Old Rocker), as Arzak sometimes calls himself, still claims that his favorite dish is fried farmhouse eggs served with roasted red peppers.

Adrià, the creator of wildly imitated foams and other coolly calculated concoctions meant to stimulate the brain as well as the palate, is now the most sought after chef in the world. His recently published book, elBulli 1998-2002 (with brother/pastry chef Alberto Adrià and restaurant partner Juli Soler), the first in what will be three volumes celebrating Andrià's 20 years at El Bulli, will not be published in English until later this year, yet acolytes have bought up more than 100 copies at $175 a pop at Kitchen Arts & Letters in New York City "as if it cost $14.95," reports Nach Waxman, the bookstore's owner. 

Adrià's menus, conceived in his off-premise laboratory during El Bulli's five month winter hibernation, are controversial, electrifying feats of artistic and technological virtuosity. His menú de degustación can total 30 samples of what might be called "tapas with attitude," several of which are indeed served on a silver spoon. Like Arzak's, Adrià's favorite dish is somewhat more plebeian: skillet cooked green asparagus, sprinkled with olive oil and sea salt, please hold the foam.

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About Gerry Dawes  

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

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. 
Mr. Dawes is currently working on a reality television series  
on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 

2/10/2014

Madrid Fusión 2014, Day One Jan. 27 in Photos


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 Three-star chef Joan Roca of Can Roca (Girona, Catalunya), named by UK's Restaurant Magazine panel as The Best Restaurant in the World, on the first day of Madrid Fusión 2014 doing his presentation, Creatividad Urbana: Inspiración Externa, Motivación Interna. 
 Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon 5D Mark III / Canon 70-200mm f/4L USM with Canon 1.4 Telextender. 


 
Madrid Fusión 2014. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon 5D Mark III / Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
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Juan Mari Arzak, María José San Román and Quique Dacosta at Madrid Fusión 2014. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2013 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Panasonic Lumix DMC ZS30 43-86mm f3.3 – f6.4. 


Chefs Sergi Arola and Jordi Cruz at Madrid Fusion 2014. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon 5D Mark III / Canon 70-200mm f/4L USM with Canon 1.4 Telextender. 


 Pitu Perramón, Owner of La Taberna de Gourmet and other restaurants in Alicante, Jordi Cruz (ABaC, Barcelona) and his assistant chef, David, and food writer / Catalan culinary personality Xavi Agullò with champion cortador de jamón Clemente Gómez at Los Pedroches jamón Ibérico stand, on a jamón stand hopping tour that I organized at Madrid Fusión 2014. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon 5D Mark III / Tokina 17-35mm f/4. 


 Three-star chef Martín Berasategui and two-star chef Paco Pérez (Hotel Mirror, Barcelona and Miramar, Costa Brava) at Madrid Fusión 2014. 
 Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon 5D Mark III / Tokina 17-35mm f/4. 


José Andrés and three-star chef Juan Mari Arzak (Arzak, San Sebastián) at Madrid Fusión 2014. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2014 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Canon 5D Mark III / Tokina 17-35mm f/4. 


 
Slide Show of Madrid Fusión 2014, Day One Jan. 27
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About Gerry Dawes


Writing, Photography, & Specialized Tours of Spain & Tour Advice
For custom-designed tours of Spain, organized and lead by Gerry Dawes, and custom-planned Spanish wine, food, cultural and photographic itineraries, send inquiries to gerrydawes@aol.com.  


I have planned and led tours for such culinary stars as Chefs Thomas Keller, Mark Miller, Mark Kiffin, Michael Lomonaco and Michael Chiarello and such personalities as baseball great Keith Hernandez and led on shorter excursions and have given detailed travel advice to many other well-known chefs and personalities such as Drew Nieporent, Norman Van Aken, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenberg, Christopher Gross, Rick Moonen, James Campbell Caruso and many others.
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“The American writer and town crier for all good Spanish things Gerry Dawes . . . the American connoisseur of all things Spanish . . .” Michael Paterniti, The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge and The World’s Greatest Piece of Cheese

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"Gerry Dawes, I can't thank you enough for opening up Spain to me." -- Michael Chiarello on Twitter. 

"Chiarello embarked on a crash course by traveling to Spain for 10 days in 2011 with Food Arts
contributing authority Gerry Dawes, a noted expert on Spanish food and wine.  Coqueta's (Chiarello's new restaurant at Pier Five, San Francisco) chef de cuisine, Ryan McIlwraith, later joined Dawes for his own two week excursion, as well. Sampling both old and new, they visited wineries and marketplaces, as well as some of Spain's most revered dining establishments, including the Michelin three-star Arzak, Etxebarri, the temple to live fire-grilling; Tickets, the playful Barcelona tapas bar run by Ferran Adrià and his brother, Albert; and ABaC, where Catalan cooking goes avant-garde." - - Carolyn Jung, Food Arts, May 2013.


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"In his nearly thirty years of wandering the back roads of Spain," Gerry Dawes has built up a much stronger bank of experiences than I had to rely on when I started writing Iberia...His adventures far exceeded mine in both width and depth..." -- James A. Michener, author of Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections
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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 with Gerry Dawes  
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

5/09/2012

Photographic Gallery of Spanish Chefs & Food Personalities


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José Andrés with "The Ultimate Gin & Tonic," made with Hendrick's gin and Fever Tree tonic water, Bar Blanca at The Bazaar by José Andrés at the SLS Hotel, Beverly Hills. All photos by Gerry Dawes ©2011. Contact gerrydawes@aol.com for publication rights.

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(Slide Show, click on images to enlarge.)


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About Gerry Dawes


Gerry Dawes is a writer-photographer-and lecturer on Spain.  He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads and plans customized gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to SpainHe was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003.

Gerry Dawes 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. 


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

10/21/2011

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. 

 
Trailer for a proposed reality television series  
on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.

10/19/2011

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.)


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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. 

 
Trailer for a proposed reality television series  
on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.

10/18/2011

The Basque Culinary Center (San Sebastián, The Basque Country, Spain) Signs An Exchange Agreement with The Culinary Institute of America


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Basque Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz speaking in the Danny Kaye Theatre at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York during one of the first lectures that are part of the agreement between the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastián and the CIA-Hyde Park. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes copyright 2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

The Basque Culinary Center will reveal the secrets of the Basque cuisine in the United States. As a partner, it will count on the world’s most important gastronomic university center, The Culinary Institute of America. 

Both institutions signed a cooperation agreement last Monday in New York, aiming to promote the education and the cultural and teacher exchange between both students and professors, as well as to deepen their sharing research on Basque and Spanish gastronomy, wine and culinary heritage.  Both agreed to promote values and benefits of the Mediterranean diet in the United States.


Joxe Mari Aizega, director of the Basque Culinary Center, and L. Tim Ryan, president of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), closed a deal in the presence of Basque lehendakari (prime minister/president), Patxi López.


Chef Andoni Aduriz of Mugaritz (2cd from right) and his crew with 
Joxe Mari Aizega, Director of the Basque Culinary Center (far right), 
at the Conrad Hilton Library at The Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, NY.
Photo by Gerry Dawes copyright 2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.


Basque chefs Juan Mari Arzak, Martin Berasategui and Andoni Luis Aduriz, members of the Board of the Basque Culinary Center, were also present at the ceremony. Later, Basque chef Andoni Luis Aduriz offered a master class to the students at the CIA.


Basque Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz at the Danny Kaye Theatre at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York during one of the first lectures that are part of the agreement between the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastián and the CIA-Hyde Park. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes copyright 2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.


The Culinary Institute of America is a world renowned gastronomic learning center. Its main campus is located in Hyde Park (New York), but it has also centers in St. Helena (California), San Antonio (Texas) and Singapore. It has about 3,000 students and 43,000 former students.
___________________________________________________________________________

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

1/03/2011

MADRID FUSIÓN 2011 January 25, 26 & 27, 2011 Headliners: Ferran Adrià, Juan Mari Arzak, Joan Roca, rising Catalan star Jordi Cruz, Mexican chefs Bricio Domínguez and Martha Ortiz, Peruvian star Gastón Acurio, Chefs from Singapore and Flanders, Along with Carlo Cracco and Slow Food's Carlo Petrini from Italy.


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 Ferran Adrià in a pensive moment at Madrid Fusión 2009. 
Photograph by Gerry Dawes©2009
 

The 9th annual Madrid Fusión International Gastronomy Summit will take place in Madrid on January 25, 26 & 27.  Headlining the conference, as he has every year since its inception in 2003, will be Ferran Adrià, who will give his annual estado de Ferranismo (state of Ferranismo) address on opening day, this one entitled El Nuevo Bulli.

Chicago's Grant Achatz at Madrid Fusión 2009. 
Photograph by Gerry Dawes©2009.

This time Ferran will  elaborate further on the permanent closing of elBulli, "the world's best restaurant," on July 31, something he has done frequently for the past year since announcing the restaurant's closing at Madrid Fusión 2010 in a bombastic press conference that produced an explosion of articles about Ferran that could be described as the espuma (foam) that frothed around the gastronomic world--in record time.  Presumably, Ferran will enlighten this year's audience about his more definitive plans for the elBulli foundation (read Ferranismo think tank), when it opens in 2014 on the site of elBulli restaurant on Cala Montjoi, the legendary hard-to-get-to cove near Roses (Girona).   And certainly, we should hear more about the January opening in Barcelona Tickets, the flagship of undoubtedly will be become a string of tapas-and-cocktail bars that Ferran and his brother, Albert, have in the works.

Other highlights planned for Madrid Fusión 2010 include appearances by star Spanish Basque chefs Juan Mari Arzak, Elena Arzak, Martín Berasategui, Pedro Subijana, Andoni Aduriz and Eneko Atxa; Catalan stars Joan Roca and his brother Jordi, Carme Ruscalleda, Ramón Freixa and Jordi Cruz, a superb young chef who recently moved from the wonderful off-the-beaten-path provincial restaurant L'Angle (located next to Fundación Alicia near Manresa) to take over at Barcelona's tony Restaurante Abac.   Stars from other parts of Spain such as Quique DaCosta (Alicante), Mari Carmen Vélez (Alicante), Dani García (Andalucía) and Angel León (Andalucía).  Madrid chefs will include Paco Roncero (La Terraza),  Sergi Arola (Arola Gastro) and Ricardo Sanz (Kabuki  Wellington).   

The region of Galicia will be represented by transplanted Italian  chef Flavio Morganti (Galileo, Ourense) and Beatriz Sotelo (La Estación, A Coruña) plus Iago Pazos y Marcos Cerqueiro, two young rising stars who run an exceptional  tapas restaurant, Abastos 2.0, in the Santiago de Compostela market.  On the sweet side, super stars include the great pasteleros-chocolateros Christían Escribà, Oriol Balaguer, Jordi Butrón, Paco Torreblanca and Jacob Torreblanca.

Mexico and South America chefs invited include Mexico's Bricio Domínguez and Martha Ortiz, with Peruvian star Gastón Acurio.  Italy will be represented by the great Carlo Cracco and Carlo Petrini of Slow Food.

Each year, Madrid Fusión has a sub-theme representing the cuisines of a single country--Mexico, Perú, Japan.  This year Singapore will be represented with chefs Matthew Bax (Trippling Club), former Restaurant Daniel (New York) and elBulli stagier Kevin Cherkas (Blu) and French-trained (Ducasse and Gagnaire) rising star Andre Chiang (Restaurant Andre) and Flanders will feature presentations from chefs Bernard Lahousse (Sense for Taste, Bruges, Belgium), Dave De Belder (De Godevaart, Antwerp) and Gert de Mangeleer (Restaurant Hertong Jan, Bruges).  

The first version of Madrid Fusión in 2003 was a huge success and launched a plethora of international food conferences and spawned numerous imitators in Spain itself.  Each year it seems something of note that resounds throughout the culinary world occurs here.  

Nobu & Ferran, Madrid Fusión 2004. 
Photograph by Gerry Dawes©2004. Contact gerrydawes@aol.com.

Among the most memorable were the appearance of France's nouvelle cuisine super stars  and Nobu Matsuhisa in 2004, the appearance of Thomas Keller and awards to several great American culinary stars in 2006 (see photo below), Santi Santamaría's spectacularly scandalous declarations deriding Spanish cocina de vangaurdia practitioners in 2007--"The only truth that counts is the product   comes from the earth, passes from our stoves to the diner's mouth, and is then defecated."--and Ferran Adria's bomba announcement last year that he was closing elBulli.


The late Michael Batterberry, publisher-editor of Food Arts magazine, speaking at Madrid Fusión 2006
with a stage full of American and Spanish culinary stars as Mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón and Ferran Adrià applaud, with Juan Mari Arzak between them.  Photograph by Gerry Dawes©2010. Contact gerrydawes@aol.com.
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