The Cuttlefish Delight from the Lounge Bar of the Upper Diagonal hotel in Barcelona has been the winning tapa in the I Barcelona City and Catalonia Pinchos and Tapas Contest. This Monday, the final of this event was held at the Llotja de Mar in the Catalan capital. Salsa Street Food and Can Culleres completed the list of winners of the first gastronomic event, conceived as an official preliminary of the state championship. A total of 24 candidates competed for a pass to the competition, which will be held in Valladolid next November. The winning tapa includes sishimi and mango mayonnaise, shrimp tartare, and tuna salt among its ingredients.
After a competition that lasted four hours, Salsa Street Food came in second with a Cochinita pibil croquette and the restaurant Can Culleres, both also from Barcelona, obtained third place with the tapa Pie con bola, reports ACN. The jury awarded three honorable mentions to Merendero de la Mari, for Viaje al Caribe, as the most creative tapa; Hiu Restaurant, for the creation Mar y montaña de espárrago blanco, as the most sustainable; and Alba Granados, for its Esqueixada de bacalao con mousse de judías de Santa Pau, chosen by the jury as the most traditional tapa.
The first-place winner will receive 1,500 euros and an artistic award, the second 1,000 euros and an artistic award, and the third 500 euros.
The competition took place at the Casa Llotja de Mar in a show cooking format, which allowed the attending public to witness the execution and staging of the 24 candidates to represent Catalonia in the final of the National Pinchos and Tapas Contest City of Valladolid. The event was organized by EV Gastro, with the collaboration of the Barcelona City Council and Estrella Damm.
Upper Diagonal, Salsa Street Food, and Can Culleres will compete in November in the national contest in Valladolid, representing Catalonia, after having convinced a jury chaired by chef Carles Abellan (Tapas 24) and completed by Phillipe Regol (gastronomic critic), Carla Peyrón (former chef of the Enigma restaurant), Judith Calix (director of Cuina magazine), Luis Cepeda (organizer of the National Contest of Valladolid), Marta Alguersuari (MasterChef 11) and chef Manu Núñez (Besta, Batea).
Anyone who wishes can try all the finalist recipes of the contest thanks to a tapas route that started last Thursday and will remain active until next Sunday. An app (Tapascat) allows locating the 48 participating establishments, located in seven towns (Barcelona, Girona, Cambrils, Sitges, Vic, Calella, El Masnou), where it is possible to eat the bites accompanied by a beer for only 4.50 euros.
The first autonomous championship conceived expressly as a preliminary phase of the National of Valladolid has brought together active professionals from hospitality establishments in the four Catalan provinces. Apart from their location, the other requirement, "in order to compete under the same conditions," has been to present a single unpublished tapa whose raw material cost did not exceed 1.5 euros.
Add The New Barcelona Post as your preferred Google source for free
Stay informed with the latest news.
