The 26th edition of San Sebastian Gastronomika - Euskadi Basque Country opened today with a day marked by the emotions of the congress awards and the high level of the presentations in the main auditorium. With a Kursaal with more than 150 exhibiting firms buzzing, the doyen of gastronomy congresses inaugurated its 26th edition under the slogan ‘Open City’, a year in which it opens up to the city while continuing to look at the world.

During the opening ceremony, Benjamín Lana, director of the Congress, pointed out that ‘if homo sapiens is the cooking animal, Donostia is the cooking city. We have come to vindicate our status as a congress of chefs, of high-flying chefs, as always, and also of those who cook in the pots and pans. We open the Gastronomika and welcome the tavern owners, who for the first time will have an entire section dedicated to debating and learning about their reality and their problems. We have come to break down the few walls that remain in this city and to open the doors of our collective intimacy, of the gastronomic societies, to the congress participants who come from outside and have heard so much and have never been able to enter, and to share the delights of others who love and admire us’.

Gastronomika has recognised the work of three gastronomy professionals who, each from their own field, have set the pace of gastronomy. The San Sebastian Gastronomika Tribute Award went to Pedro Subijana (Akelarre *, Donostia) for his more than fifty years in the kitchen. Subijana, as well as being a member of the Founders' Committee, has been a speaker at all 25 editions of the Congress. The chef insisted on his desire to continue at the helm, stressed the importance of knowing how to listen and observe and confessed that the current team is the best he has had in his 50 years at Akelarre. Loud, clear and emotional, he said ‘I am not thinking of retiring’.

On this occasion, the Gueridón de Oro went to Mariano García, oenologist and general manager of Bodegas Mauro, ‘one of the most influential men in the world of wine in Spain’ according to Hilario Arbelaitz, who presented him with the award. The Pau Albornà i Torras Gastronomic Journalism Award went to Lisa Abend, an independent American journalist who, from many parts of the world, has been able to detect, and of course communicate, the new trends and new values in gastronomy.

From Portugal to the Basque grill, without ceasing to ‘Enjoy’

The first day also showed the main lines of this edition. João Rodrigues (Canalha, Lisbon) broke the ice, highlighting the richness of the guest country, Portugal, and highlighting the role of small producers. Those attending the Auditorium ‘travelled’ to Denmark, passing through Korea, to listen to the presentation by Kristian Baumann (Koan**, Copenhagen), in which the chef explained how he combines Asian tradition with Nordic technique. Marco Antonio Iniesta (Frases, Murcia) also played with yesterday and today to create vegetable-based sausages. Murcia is known as the vegetable garden of Europe and this chef has fun imagining classic sausages with vegetables from his region as protagonists.

The presentation by Paco Morales and Paola Gualandi (Noor***, Córdoba) also had a lot to do with culture, imagination and tradition, as they explained the creative process of this iconic restaurant. ‘It is necessary to continue to bet on history and tradition’, said the chef. The morning was rounded off by Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch, two of the three chefs of Disfrutar***, chosen as the best restaurant in the world in 2024, who presented the latest innovations they have incorporated into their always surprising cuisine.

In the afternoon, Ana Moura (Lamelas, Porto Covo) prepared a rice dish with fish and seafood before Sara Peral and Jorge Muñoz (OSA*, Madrid) highlighted the importance of home in their wild cuisine. ‘Time is always the best ingredient’, they reflected. The first day of talks was brought to a close by Elena Arzak (Arzak***, Donostia) with her talk ‘Secundarios con estrella’; Pedro Sánchez (Bagá*, Jaén) who gave a nod to Basque cuisine with his talk ‘El pil-pil como inspiración’; the personal vision of the environment is the focus of Joan Roca (El Celler de Can Roca***, Girona) in a talk on how the cuisine of El Celler de Can Roca exudes Girona; and Sebastian Frank (Horváth**, Berlin, Germany) with his ‘Childhood memories’.

In love with the Basque grill

What is it about the Basque grill that makes everyone fall in love with it? Bittor Arginzoniz (Asador Etxebarri*, Axpe, Bizkaia) and Aitor Arregi (Elkano*, Getaria, Gipuzkoa) tried to answer this question, perhaps a trick question, in a delightful discussion led by Benjamín Lana.

Arginzoniz pointed out that the excellent product, to which he sets no limits, is the key to his grill, a technique that has a lot to do with culture and origin and which also demands a lot: ‘I will cook as long as my body can take it, because it is hard work and a lot of sacrifice, and the years don't pass in vain and you lose your faculties’, he warned.

Aitor Arregi spoke of the importance of the feeling of belonging to the community and of working ‘from home and not from the noise from outside to know who is part of that community, that territory. You cannot lose that idiosyncrasy’.

A promising challenge

Artificial Intelligence and its possibilities in the kitchen will also play a leading role at San Sebastian Gastronomika. Within this framework, an interesting challenge has been set in which the physicist Eneko Axpe, a chemist and a chef from the Alícia Foundation, with the help of this technology, must do better than Ricard Camarena when it comes to preparing a menu that will be made up of a starter with five ingredients chosen by the public in the Auditorium; a second course in which hake will be the protagonist, being cooked in salt or roasted; and a dessert that will be a reinterpretation of carrot cake. Tomorrow both teams will unveil their proposals and a jury will evaluate them without knowing which one has been generated by IA and which one is Camarena's.

Artificial Intelligence and its possibilities in the kitchen will also play a leading role at San Sebastian Gastronomika. Within this framework, an interesting challenge has been set in which the physicist Eneko Axpe, a chemist and a chef from the Alícia Foundation, with the help of this technology, must do better than Ricard Camarena when it comes to preparing a menu that will be made up of a starter with five ingredients chosen by the public in the Auditorium; a second course in which hake will be the protagonist, being cooked in salt or roasted; and a dessert that will be a reinterpretation of carrot cake. Tomorrow both teams will unveil their proposals and a jury will evaluate them without knowing which one has been generated by IA and which one is Camarena's.