Mountain inspiration by the sea

On the second day of Andorra Taste, two chefs representing two generations of Barcelona cuisine took to the stage. Carles Gaig and Raül Balam. Both were aware that their city is only 300 metres above sea level, but they claimed the right to seek inspiration for their urban cuisine in the mountains.

The first to do so was Carles Gaig, an institution in Barcelona cuisine with his restaurant Gaig. From a family of restaurateurs, Carles Gaig is considered a champion of traditional Catalan cuisine with the chef's personal vision. Following in his footsteps, and in the spirit of high mountain gastronomy, Gaig presented at Andorra Taste a game dish with wood pigeon - "which my own son-in-law hunted" - a bird "not very common in Catalan cuisine, but excellent when cooked with care".

The Barcelona chef ended his speech with a strong defence of the role of the kitchen in everyday life: 'The kitchen is the most magical place in the house and the act of cooking is one of the most generous and endearing that exists'.

Barcelona was represented on the stage of the Prat del Roure by Raül Balam, a chef from a younger generation, who stands out for his creativity at Moments** in the Mandarin Orienta Hotel in Barcelona. Balam arrived in Andorra full of excitement because "this year we are also celebrating the 15th anniversary of Moments", and he presented some of the dishes on the menu that commemorate this "gastronomic journey". A menu that brings together some of the most iconic dishes from the themed menus that characterise his gastronomic proposal and which, as the chef himself admitted, "was the most difficult to prepare because it is impossible to ask a father to choose between all his children".

Balam had to choose again, this time to present at Andorra Taste some of the dishes that can be enjoyed at Moments until January. But this time the choice was easier and, logically, "we brought those that were the best". He demonstrated this, for example, with a foal from the Pyrenees (from his menu dedicated to the Seventh Art) or with a tribute to corn representing Machu Pichu (a dish from the Wonders of the World menu).