Spanish Food & Gastronomy Workshop - 6 May 08

Several Slow Food Joburg members attended the Spanish Food & Gastronomy Workshop in Sandton on 6 May. There were about 20 companies exhibiting their products in the main hall - hams and meats, olive oils, wines, preserves were all on offer.

At lunch time chef Sergio Fernandez prepared a Tapas buffet which showcased some of the amazing and innovative food culture emerging from Spain: liquid tortilla, squid soup, granadilla and olive oil jelly squares, mancehgo cheese bubbles in olive oil, "sparkler" (ie curry crisp) prawns (see pic) were just some of the food on offer.

Then there were 3 talks or workshops on Olive Oil, Ham and Spanish Gastronomy.We (our chairman Andrew is tasting some in the pic) tasted 4 different olive oils from around Spain - and were introduced to the effects of terroir which we don't really get with our South African oils:
Hojoblanco from southern Spain was fruity and grassy;
Arbequino - an unfiltered complex almod flavoured oli from the north;
Picual, the largest varietal grown in Spain from the middle and north - was earthy.
Cornicabra from the west and centre with the fruity flavor despite its hard life in the centre which has extremes of temperatures.



The workshop on Spanish hams was very interesting. Our lecturer, Stephanie Mazier from the Consorcio del Jamon Serrano Espanol (an associotion of 15 companies that produce and maintain the quality of hams) talked about the two main kinds of hams:
Serano, the most widespread and made from the standard white pig which is cured from 7-20 months;
and the acorn fed Iberico from the west which is larger, takes from 12-36 months to cure and costs over R1000/kg.
She also talked about how to store the hams, cut them and about the process of making them.















The last lecture on new Spanish Cuisine - or melecular gastronomy was the most interesting. With a series of great looking slides, chef Sergio Fernandez took us through the many techniques that have been developed. From using coffee plungers to make broth, to making frozen "tomatoe popcorn" and cauliflower cous cous, to hot and cold in one glass dishes and fruit "roes," it was a fascinating adventure into this inventive cuisine. I will be trying out some of the techniques in my own laboratory (er kitchen).