This year, León (province located at the northwest of Spain) is the Gastronomic Capital status of Spain.
The city of León
One of the most representative monuments of Leon is its Cathedral.
The Cathedral of Leon
The poster about the appointment as Gastronomic Capital
More than 350 affiliated establishments, a pantry full of quality products and a project, “León Manjar de Reyes” (“León, a feast of Kings”) , full of activities, make up the menu of this city's gastronomic offer. The objective: the excellence in the service and in the quality of what is offered, for the visitor, to repeat in the future.
Its products, its denominations of origin and its guarantee brands cosign Leon, without doubt, in this denomination, as "Gastronomic Capital of Spain 2018".The following dishes are typical of León: the Botillo, picadillo, beef, lamb stew and lamb in chanfaina; the cod to the arriero garlic; the trout soup and garlic soups; the Cocido montañés, the Cocido Maragato (Maragato Stew) or the railway pot; the frog legs from La Bañeza; the Battalion of Valencia de Don Juan; the Valdevimbre stewed omelette; empanadas value products such as cured beef, botillo --the botillo is a meat product, made with pieces cut from the pork cutting, seasoned and stuffed in the pig's blind, which is then smoked and semi-cured--, meat and cheese, fruits, vegetables and legumes.
These are some of those typical dishes:
The Botillo
Lamb in chafaina
Cod Ajoarriero
Maragato Stew
Frog legs from La Bañeza
Spanish omelette from Valdevimbre
Pasty made of pumpkin and blood sausage
These dishes and others, such varied, have given Leon: three labels with Denomination of Origin; nine Seals of Protected Geographical Indication and six Seals of Marks of Guarantee and one Seal of Collective Mark.
And talking about awards, we can not forget the chefs, Yolanda León and Juanjo Pérez, from the restaurant "Cocinandos" (in the street Campanillas, 1. Tel. 987071378. Closed Sunday and Monday), which, in 2009, got one Michelin Star, that still preserve. That is the only Michelin Star, in the whole province of León. And the restaurant is highly recommendable, because you can eat there for only 43 Euros.
Juanjo Pérez and Yolanda León
The restaurant Cocinandos
The avant-garde technique of Juanjo and Yolanda, applied to Leonese recipes, has turned them into a gastronomic reference. But in addition, this couple of chefs is known for their support to young generations of chefs and for their respect for the profession, which prevents them from enriching themselves, at the expense of the work of scholars without a contract, in their establishment.
In a recent interview, Yolanda said, for example, about gastronomy in the capital: "It is difficult to define it, I think that, as in all places, we are trying to work with the products of our area, which are wonderful (although we do not believe it). We have more Denominations of Origin and more Protected Geographical Indications than any other province in Spain: vegetables, cheeses, fruits, sausages, meats ... And we, like any good chef, want to show our clients where they are, what Leon tastes for and which are its products".
The journalist asked her about the success of “Cocinandos” and she answered: "The success maybe comes from a lot of work, effort and to have behind us a great team, that makes Cocinandos a reality: without them we are nothing. After 14 years, we want to change location in the future, especially to be able to meet all the demands of our customers, offering them a better location, with greater comfort”.
Another question was about how to design a Michelin Star Menu for less than 45 Euros and she answered: "To get it profitable, you have to buy the seasonal products at the best price, we change the menu every 10 days. If I just bought the wild fish, that has arrived today, for example, instead of tenderloin, I will accompany with cheeks. The key is to escandallar (Determine the price of cost or of sale of a merchandise by the factors of its production) well, to take care of purchases and expenses to detail. Everything is calculated and adjusted, we serve with an exquisite tableware on linen tablecloths, but we do not have a sommelier who dedicates himself to wine or a retinue of waiters: we give work to eight people. We are one of the cheapest stars, in Spain: our menu consisting of 9 passes costs 43 euros with IVA. Price has been decisive, especially in the years of crisis, both Juanjo --my other half, partner, associate ...--, as I wanted to bring our kitchen to all kinds of audiences, that can come without a great effort".
But, before Yolanda and Juanjo, there were other chefs, with much prestige, like for example Carlos Dominguez Cidón, who died, too young, in 2009 –rest in peace--, and who was the first to innovate and get one Michelin Star and two Repsol soles,with his restaurant “Vivaldi”.
Carlos Dominguez and his restaurant
In another interview with Pedro Llamas (Councilor for Commerce, Consumption and Festivities at the León City Council), on the radio, he said: "There has to be a commitment and, above all, it has to go in quality, in the attention, in the product, in the facilities ..., and we want that, in the end, the people who come to León recommend ..., because León has lived a lot of "by word of mouth tourism", many people who have come from other cities, they leave surprised and in the end other people come, then we have to make that leap of quality, to be excellent ... I think that is where we are going to work, I think "Leon, gastronomic Capital, feast of Kings" is the opportunity to place ourselves as a quality and different destination, within interior tourism”.
Pedro Llamas
Well, as the Councilor said, I hope that you use the “by word of mouth”, to recommend to go to Leon and hope that you can go there to there this year.
Until my next post, kind regards,
Luis.
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