Jeunes Restaurateurs celebrates an international gastronomic day in Rioja

A representation of the association JRE – Jeunes Restaurateurs de Europa, made up of eight young chefs and their respective sommeliers held an international gastronomic day in La Rioja and Álava, with the local collaboration of Juan Carlos Ferrando and La Rioja Alta.

Juan Carlos Ferrando, JRE’s representative in La Rioja since 2019, acted as host in his restaurant, with a Rioja-based menu, paired with wines from Grupo La Rioja Alta SA.

The following day, in a half-day event, La Rioja Alta and JRE Jeunes Restaurateurs challenged the eight international chefs and sommeliers to an unprecedented activity in the vineyards of Torre de Oña, located in the town of Páganos in Alava.

The challenge consisted of cooking in pairs, with surprise products, without a recipe or predetermined objectives. There was also no electricity, as four Ofyr wood-fired barbecues served as fire pits. Improvisation, interaction, diversity and experimentation were the key to success and the surprising result. Each dish was paired with wines from Grupo La Rioja Alta previously selected by the sommeliers in attendance.

The guest chefs were: Chiel de Groot from Amused restaurant in the Netherlands, Teresa Gutiérrez from Azafrán restaurant in Villarobledo, Rik Jansma from Basiliek restaurant in the Netherlands, Annett Teich from BK restaurant in France, Jesús Monedero from Palio restaurant in Toledo, Leon Pintarič from RAJH restaurant in Slovenia, Tomaž Bevčič from Rizibizi restaurant in Slovenia, Rhys Keeling from Shiuli restaurant in the United Kingdom and Juan Carlos Ferrando from Juan Carlos Ferrando restaurant in Logroño.

The produce, mostly from La Rioja and of the highest quality, came out of the “mystery boxes” that were assigned to each chef. Priego Córdoba Olive Oil, Anguiano Beans, Lubinan from Aquanaria, Saffron from La Mancha, Artichokes from Caprichos del Paladar, Meat from Consejo Regulador de Ávila, micro leaves from Koppert Cress, black garlic from JR Suárez, flour from Molinos del Duero, mushrooms from Herchamp, organic vegetables from La Huerta de Rizos, chocolate from Original Beans, fruit from Peras de Rincón de Soto and spring water from Vichy Catalán. The dishes were presented on the crockery of the Riojan potter Toño Naharro.

For Juan Carlos Ferrando: “The cooking has been pure creativity, sharing knowledge and skills with colleagues from different countries has been an experience, coupled with incredible results and ‘in real time’. The wines of La Rioja Alta, as always, a success”.