Live Demonstration – ART EXPRESSED THROUGH GASTRONOMY

Always a highlight of the forum is the live cooking demonstration by two-Michelin-star chef, Dani García, showed the attendees how cooking can also be art form. Or did he?

To help the reader decide, here is the definition of ‘art’ from the Oxford English Dictionary: “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form, such as a painting or a sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”

Dani said himself “Although the kitchen is in part artistic, philosophical and creative, I don’t think that a chef is an artist…..Well the inventor of the tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelette) was a ‘crack’.”

Dani García @danigarcia_ca, born in 1975, is a local Marbellan hero. He is one of the important figures of the current Spanish gastronomic scene. His gastronomic concept, like his strong accent, is based on Andalucian tradition.

Links to an interview with Dani Garcia and other related blog posts on Andalucia.com:
Interview with Dani Garcia
Andalucia Sabor International Fine Food Exhibition I
Andalucia Sabor International Fine Food Exhibition II
The Ultimate Tapas Experience(s), courtesy of Dani Garcia and other top Andalucian chefs
Dani Garcia heads to New York
TEDx Marbella

Not afraid to experiment with the latest and riskiest techniques, both in the kitchen, and in business or on the stage. A strong supporter of the troubled Málaga catering school, “La Cónsula”, where he first studied. Early on he joined the kitchen at Martín Berasategui Restaurant in Lasarte, Guipüzcoa, before returning south to Ronda where he was chef at Tragabuches. He opened Restaurant Calima in 2005, help re-brand La Moraga in Malaga, opened (and closed) Manzanilla in Malaga and New York. His other projects include a bistro called MilMilagros in Marbella; a Dani Garcia cafe in Malaga Airport (just after security), and he currently heads the spectacular Dani Garcia and Restaurant Bibo at the Hotel Puente Romano in Marbella, has two Michelin stars, and the Repsol Guide has awarded him three Sol Awards. His catering support the top events in Marbella.

Mara Torres interviewed Dani whilst the impromptu kitchen was being set up on stage. “What are you next projects?” “To be happy”, Dani quipped. “Seriously, when I was younger (and I still am young), I had loads of projects in my mind. Now I don’t, because you never know what is round the corner.” He continues jokingly “Perhaps open a pizzeria, or even make hamburgers in McDonald’s.”

This brought a loud laugh: non-Spanish readers might not be aware that the fast food chain has teamed up Dani in Spain to include on the menu for a limited time “Grand McExtrem BiBo Burger by Dani Garcia” We now see Dani’s smiling face on every bus stand from Albacete to Zaragoza. Dani’s burger is nice, but to me it still is both a McDonald’s burger and a textbook example of brand-stretching.

Dani’s justification was that many could not afford to eat at his restaurant that ‘only’ serves 17,000 a year, and this way his McDonald’s recipe reaches 70,000 a day.

My prize for the most retweeted (7) and favourited (7) tweeted photo of #FLZ15 goes to @luyk_e with a photo of @DaniGarcia and @maratorres_ talking on stage. Well done!

Dani believes that gastronomy should have an element of seduction which he refers to as ‘morbo’.

We enjoyed live demonstrations of his creations that did indeed turn out to look like art. One was chocolate ‘lacework’, and an edible coral reef.