The Ambivium team, led by its head chef, Cristóbal Muñoz, presented the incredible work they do at the restaurant with the Aquanaria seabass during a fascinating presentation, which was one of the highlights of the recent eighth Gastrocanarias show. This culinary show has established itself as the islands’ gastronomic event par excellence. The Canary Islands Absolute Cooking Championship and the Canary Islands Young Chefs Championship were other highlights of the fair.
Aquanaria seabass lives in the Atlantic waters around the Canary Islands. As a Canary Island product, it can be found in many of the archipelago’s restaurants. Its extraordinary properties, resulting from its living conditions, make it a high-quality food product that is perfectly suited to practically all culinary techniques. Thanks to this, it is found in many of the most prestigious restaurants in Spain and in more than 25 countries around the world.
AMBIVIUM
Ambivium is one of the most promising gastronomic projects in our country. Located in Peñafiel, in the Pago de Carraovejas winery, it has boasted a Michelin red star since 2020. Its cuisine, created around wine, is highly original.The young team stands out for its creativity, a quality they develop in a harmonies laboratory, a unique, multipurpose facility where they carry out their R+D+I activities. At the last Michelin gala, Cristóbal Muñoz, head chef, was awarded the “Young chef award”. He also won the “Chef of the Year 2023” competition and the “Promises of Haute Cuisine Le Cordon Bleu” award.
However, if there is one thing that really stands out about this project, it is its commitment to sustainability, which is something that is shared by Ambivium and Aquanaria. The restaurant was created with a philosophy closely linked to the terroir, prioritising seasonal and local products. Ambivium has its own organic vegetable garden just a stone’s throw from the kitchen and calculates and audits its carbon footprint annually. This aspect was recognised at the last Michelin gala with the green star award. Their goal is to be Net Zero by 2050 and they are already Gold category, the highest category awarded by the International Wineries for Climate Action Association (IWCA).
AMBIVIUM AND AQUANARIA
Cellarium is the name given to the Ambivium restaurant’s tasting menu. This word comes from the Latin word “cella”, pantry or cellar, combined with the name of the restaurant, Ambivium, meaning crossroads. In this presentation,Cristóbal Muñoz (head chef), Guillermo Ortega (director of creativity) and Ismael Mota (chef) made a 100% sea bass version paired with Canary Island wines perfectly selected by Laura Rodríguez (head waiter and sommelier).
In Cellarium: navigating among harmonies, the Ambivium team reinvents and applies various traditional preservation methods to seabass, achieving a sublime sensory experience, always with the idea of making the most of the fish.
Cold maturation, koji brine, drying and preservation in fat were the techniques applied. This resulted in highly technical, creative and aesthetically pleasing dishes that impressed the spectators. The comments about the high standard of the presentation were unanimous.
OTHER AQUANARIA ACTIVITIES AT GASTROCANARIAS
This year, the title of best chef of the Canary Islands went to Roberto Couto from Tenerife. Roberto chose Aquanaria (the official fish supplier of the championship) seabass as the ingredient for one of his dishes: “Sea bass, sweet potato and its broth”. Daniel Castro from Gran Canaria and Mario Yamuza from Majorca came second and third respectively. The prize for the best assistant went to Iván Pulido, who thus became a finalist chef for the 2024 event.
In addition, at the booth of Gran Canaria Me Gusta, Inti Ramsés, chef of the restaurant El Caserón del Cortijo, explained the maturing and smoking techniques that he applies to the Aquanaria seabass in his restaurant. Cristina Monge, chef of the Borneo Restaurant, currently in a phase of renewal, also explained her personal way of interpreting cuisine during the show cooking session: mixed cuisine with a Gran Canaria twist. An original Aquanaria seabass curry with black potato was the dish that the attendees had the opportunity to taste.
AQUANARIA COMMITMENT
Participating in gastronomic fairs is always of interest to Aquanaria and even more so if it is in the Canary Islands, our home. We believe that our presence at this show was very significant. Participating with such a high-level presentation was a great contribution to Gastrocanarias. Moreover, attending as an official fish supplier allowed many chefs to get to know Aquanaria seabass and to demonstrate their talent with great dishes. We will be providing our support again at the next event.
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