Can you spot the 20 Toronto chefs?
To wrap-up the Estrella Damm Tapas Journey, our client flew all 20 chefs from each participating restaurant;Barsa Taberna, Beast, Byblos, Carmen, Cava, East Thirty-Six, El Catrin, Kanpai Snack Bar, Los Colibrís, Mamakas Taverna, Marben, Mata Petisco Bar, Nota Bene, Patria, Raca Café & Bar, Salt Wine Bar, Taverna pa Mercatto, The Good Son, Valdez, and Weslodge, to Miami to experience the Estrella Damm Gastronomy Congress: The Changing Face of Modern Gastronomy.
On September 21, we gathered at the Miami-Dade College Chapman Conference Centre to catch the all-star culinary lineup including: Ferran Adrià, of elBulli, the world’s most awarded chef and winner of ‘Chef of the Decade’ in 2010; Lluís García, director of the elBullifoundation and former elBulli Restaurant Director; Diego Muñoz, head chef at Astrid y Gastón in Lima, Peru, voted 14th in the ‘World’s Best Restaurants of 2015’ and 2nd in the ‘Latin America’s Best Restaurants of 2014’; Fran Agudo, head chef at Michelin star rated Tickets Bar in Barcelona, voted 42nd in the ‘World’s Best Restaurants of 2015’; and David Gil, creative pastry chef for Albert Adrià’s restaurants in Barcelona.
The Estrella Damm Gastronomy Congress kicked off with Ferran Adrià and Lluís García discussing the future of “the restaurant” as a concept, as well as the evolution of elBulli into the elBullifoundation, which is a creative think tank for the culinary world with the mantra of “eat knowledge to nurture creativity.” Adrià and García also gave us a sneak peek into Heart Ibiza and the Cirque du Soleil projects they are working on.
As we sipped on Estrella Damm beer and snacked on passed tapas, we were immersed in live cooking demonstrations by Diego Muñoz, Fran Agudo and David Gil, where we learned about the latest culinary trends and techniques from these influential and avant-garde chefs from Barcelona.
To close out the incredible journey, we attending a VIP cocktail hour at Miami Culinary Institute’s Tuyo Restaurant, where we could rubbed elbows with all of the Estrella Damm Gastronomy Congress presenting chefs, including Ferran Adrià!
