"The soul of cooking is in the villages"

After a successful open day last Sunday that filled the centre of Agüimes with rural cuisine, Terrae began the professional part of the International Meeting of Rural Gastronomy yesterday at the Municipal Theatre in this city. The first day of the congress was marked by the presentation of the Terrae Award to the Colombian chef Leonor Espinosa (LEO, Bogotá), who summed up the importance of rural gastronomy when she said that "the soul of cooking is in the villages". Winner of the Terrae prize for her work with her country's indigenous communities to highlight their cultural heritage, Espinosa insisted on "pride in the natural environment" and warned young people against the easy temptation of migrating to the big city, advising them to seek out the characteristics of each region through the memories of its people.

A task that many Spanish chefs are already undertaking, as demonstrated by the fact that Terrae has brought together in Gran Canaria more than 50 chefs from the 17 Autonomous Communities, as well as chefs from rural areas in Italy and Portugal. Evidence of all this work in progress could be seen in the presentation by Ignacio Echapresto (Venta de Moncalvillo**, Daroca de Rioja), who explained how the risky gamble he and his brother Carlos took at the time "to make a living in the village where we were born" has turned into a business that has managed to keep the population in the village, make it known and create a network of producers who have seen their products increase in value. Echapresto, who was addressing the younger members of the audience in particular, also defended regeneration 'that goes beyond sustainability' and championed 'the luxury of immediacy and cooking what the land gives us at any given moment' as key elements of rural cuisine.

In the same vein, Portuguese chefs Octávio Freitas (Desarma*, Funchal, Madeira) and Filipe Ramalho (Páteo Real, Alter do Chao, Alentejo) brought some of the charm of their regions to the meeting through their own products and recipes handed down from previous generations. According to Freitas, "today's customers don't just want to eat, they want to get to know the area", which is why both he and his colleague from the Alentejo are free to explore the traditions of their regions.

The Canarian wrestling ring, transformed into a cultural space that hosted the first professional day of the congress, was for a few hours a kitchen and a place for exchanging ideas, because, as congress director Benjamín Lana reminded us, "Terrae is a space for exchanging ideas and experiences in a way that helps us all to continue growing". Likewise, Minerva Alonso, Councillor for Economic Development of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, took the opportunity to recall the great work done by rural cuisine "to show the diversity of the landscape, culture and gastronomy", in this case of the island itself, host of Terrae.

Canarians Aridani Alonso and Víctor Lugo, chef and owner respectively of the restaurant Casa Romántica (Gran Canaria), are well aware of this. They have turned this property in the Agaete valley into a true "ambassador of the product, with not only a restaurant but also a centre for the interpretation of Gran Canaria products", according to the businessman.

Casa Romántica is a good example of a type of business that is achieving good results in rural areas, a business that seeks to combine different facets to offer an experience that goes beyond the gastronomic. This symbiosis of projects was also discussed at the round table with José Ignacio Jauregui, from Maskarada in Navarre; José Gordón, from the El Capricho winery in León; Vicent Guimerà of L'Antic Molí* (Ulldecona, Tarragona) and Canary Islands winemaker Jerónimo Marrero, who talked about making the most of all the resources at their disposal to offer customers more than just a menu, and about understanding sustainability not as an empty word but as a certain way of doing things well. Looking for the keys to success for this type of business, Jauregui warned that "in the rural world, profitability depends more on quality than quantity", while his colleague from León stressed the importance of "knowing the territory, knowing what it can offer, working with it, using all the resources available and then knowing how to communicate it". Finally, Guimerà looked to the future, saying that today's work "must be an example so that young people see that these businesses have a future and that they can continue them".

Also in a round table format, Terrae wanted to dedicate part of its first day to discussing the importance of valuing artisan products, which it did through one of those products that many rural communities share: cheese. With the help of Michele Buster, founder of Forever Cheese, Lucía Torres, a cheesemaker from the Canary Islands, and chef Pepe Solla (Casa Solla*, Poio, Pontevedra), it was noted that "there is a lack of knowledge and awareness of the world of cheese". Michele Buster, the US importer of Spanish cheese, complained about the bureaucratic obstacles that prevent many small cheesemakers from accessing the international market, while Solla warned of the need to "add value to cheese". The market is saturated with mediocrity. Not with excellence. Lucía Torres, from the Era del Cardón cheese factory in Agüimes, stressed the importance of knowing the tradition and enjoying the work, which is key to passing on the profession to the new generations.

Terrae concluded its first professional conference with a visit to the Tenefé salt flats, where a working session was held in which all the participating chefs discussed and exchanged proposals, the conclusions of which will be presented at the end of the conference, in order to make the rural environment and its gastronomy values of the present and future.