The third Andorra Taste puts the spotlight on Nordic cuisine

Leading chefs from all over the world will meet again from 18 to 20 September at Andorra Taste, the international meeting of high mountain cuisine, under the slogan ‘Altitude versus Latitude’. The difficulties that mountain areas experience due to climatic conditions are also shared by other land areas, such as the countries of the northernmost latitudes. A nexus that will lead chefs such as Carme Ruscalleda, Elena Arzak, Ricard Camarena, Raül Balam and David Yárnoz to share experiences and the stage with, among others, the Nordic chefs Christopher Haatuft, Filip Gemzell, Søren Selin and Albert Franch & Luka Balac. It will be the third edition of Andorra Taste, the meeting that vindicates mountain cuisine as the one that wastes the least and values nature's resources the most, and in which we will also continue to count on the presence of high-altitude chefs, such as the French chef Frédéric Molina, to continue to make high-mountain cuisine visible all over the world as a stronghold of authenticity, rooted in the territory and with a future. 


The International High Mountain Gastronomy Meeting, organised by Vocento Gastronomía-grup gsr and Andorra Turisme, also aims to highlight Andorra's gastronomy, its local products and its gastronomic influence. The third edition will once again be held in the parish of Escaldes-Engordany (also a sponsor of Andorra Taste), and will once again have an important agenda of popular activities in the Andorra Taste Popular, which will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (20, 21 and 22 September) and which will include a special programme for children.

Nordic countries, guest territory

After two editions in which Andorra Taste has been twinned with other high mountain territories from various parts of the world, this third edition aims to open up this communion of territories to other unique areas due to their unique and even extreme climatic conditions. This is the case of the northernmost latitudes, which include countries such as Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. All of these countries face cold temperatures, abrupt climate changes and few hours of sunshine, all factors that have a direct influence on their pantries and the use they make of natural resources. These characteristics have not prevented Nordic cuisine from becoming a world reference in recent years. 

In order to learn more about the philosophy that permeates Nordic cuisine, and to establish connections that allow us to understand the similarities between territories that seem so different, Andorra Taste will be attended by important chefs from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark.  This is the case of the bi-starred Søren Selin, chef at AOC (Copenhagen, Denmark), who through his cuisine has dedicated himself to highlighting the natural flavours of Danish products, capturing the essence of the season and the region.  His focus on sustainability and respect for the environment is also reflected in his culinary practices.

Another chef who has also made a significant mark on the international gastronomic scene for his distinctive approach to sustainable cuisine and use of local ingredients is the Norwegian Christopher Haatuft (Lysverket*, Bergen). Haatuft's cuisine is characterised by simplicity and elegance, combining modern techniques with traditional ingredients to create dishes that capture the essence of contemporary Scandinavian cuisine. Christopher also runs the MatTak project together with local gardener Sigurd Boasson. Their aim is to spread knowledge about growing food and finding solutions to the problems caused by climate change. The idea is to grow food on rooftops all over the city to alleviate the effects of torrential rains and at the same time supply Bergen's restaurants and residents with local produce. 

Filip Gemzell, chef at Äng* (Tvaaker, Sweden) is another Nordic chef who will be at Andorra Taste. From the Ästad Vingård farm and vineyards, Gemzell offers a gastronomic experience linked to the land through the cosmopolitan vision brought by his years as a chef in London, which allows Äng's cuisine to explore cultures and culinary techniques from all over the world but never leaving its roots. Many of the ingredients in his dishes are picked fresh each morning from nearby forests, beaches and fields and his organic Scandinavian Ästad wines are produced just 100 metres from the restaurant.

Not missing from the Andorra Taste event will be one of the Nordic restaurants most committed to the environment, the Finnish restaurant Nolla (Helsinki), headed by the trio of Albert Sallent, Luka Balac and Carlos Henriques. A Catalan, a Serbian and a Portuguese who met while working in Oslo and in 2017 decided to create their own restaurant. They have opted for zero waste and every step of the gastronomic process is approached from a sustainability perspective: most of the products are produced less than 250 km away from the restaurant; table linen and uniforms are made from recyclable materials... 

France will be represented this year by Frédéric Molina, chef at Moulin de Lére* (Vailly, France). Frédéric Molina's culinary philosophy is based on respect for local, seasonal produce and his commitment to responsible agricultural and livestock farming practices, minimising the restaurant's environmental impact and promoting biodiversity. The son of winegrowers, the chef shares this project with his wife Irene Gordejuela, who is in charge of the restaurant's dining room. Their eco-responsible approach earned them a Michelin star in 2019 and a green star in 2020. Their cuisine is based on vegetables and herbs from the vegetable garden and the nearby mountains, 90% of which come from artisanal and organic farms within a radius of 30 km, and which they combine with the flavours of the lake and the forest.

The speakers at this third edition of Andorra Taste also include one of the great women of contemporary cuisine, Elena Arzak, at the helm of one of the world's great restaurants. Arzak is synonymous with gastronomy, evolution, renovation and creativity. It has been with his father Juan Mari and continues to be with Elena. Juan Mari Arzak is considered one of the fathers of modern Spanish cuisine. In his historic gastronomic temple, originally a tavern opened in 1897 by his grandfather José María Arzak Etxabe, many of the elements that make up what is known as the New Basque Cuisine were put together. Today, led by his daughter, Elena Arzak, it continues to be a beacon, with a perfect combination of market cuisine and the most cutting-edge innovation and creativity. With three Michelin stars since 1989, the list of awards is immense.

Ricard Camarena will also be in Andorra. With a very clear commitment from the outset to the Valencian market garden and sea, Camarena has been able to build a cuisine based on seasonality and the flavour provided by top-quality produce. Alongside him is another of Spain's great chefs, David Yárnoz, chef at Molino de Urdániz** (Urdániz, Navarre, Spain). The changes in the landscape and the cycle of the seasons are vividly present in Yárnoz's cuisine. That the restaurant is located in the middle of a forest in the pre-Pyrenees of Navarre is no coincidence because it is in this environment that the chef bases his wild cuisine, using the forest as his natural larder. In 2019 he opened the Molino de Urdániz restaurant in Taiwan, located in the Musa luxury hotel in Taipei. A replica of his cuisine 10,474 km away, it offers diners most of the dishes that can be found at the ‘mother house’ and also has two stars.

From Pakistan to Bilbao

Akhond Ishaq, chef at Garibolo (Bilbao, Spain), was born in Pakistan's Baltistan, in the Karakoram (Himalayan) mountains. When he was 7 years old, he was already selling fruit from his father's orchard. He learned to read and write at night, while working as a dishwasher in a Chinese restaurant. He also worked as a porter on mountain expeditions, carrying more than 30 kilos on his back. On one of them he was hired as a kitchen assistant and later as a cook. On one expedition he met Alex Txikón, who helped him to reach Bizkaia, where he learned Spanish and Basque and how to cook in the European style. He now owns a restaurant in Bilbao, where he employs six people. Also coming from the Basque Country will be Roberto Ruiz, chef at Hika Gastronomika (Villabona, Guipúzcoa, Spain), one of the great references of the most traditional Basque cuisine. He is recognised as the king of the Tolosa bean, a product that has allowed him to get to know and value the local terroir. After his time at the Frontón restaurant in Tolosa, where he forged part of Basque culinary culture for 25 years, Ruiz joined the restaurant of the Hika txakoli winery, located in a contemporary farmhouse in Villabona (Gipuzkoa) with a local cuisine and local produce in which the landscape surrounding the restaurant is the perfect accompaniment to his simple and frank preparations, with a strong link to the land. 

Eduardo Salanova (Canfranc Express*, Canfranc, Huesca) will also be at Andorra Taste. As a child he loved cooking and at the age of 16 he was already working in different restaurants in Huesca, but he ended up graduating in Law. However, it didn't take him long to realise that what he really liked was what he really liked. He trained at the Escuela de Hostelería de Huesca and continued learning in several Michelin-starred restaurants. His cuisine puts the value on Aragonese recipes, which are sadly being lost, and he works with local products and those from the nearby French valley. His captivating restaurant is located in the emblematic Estación de Canfranc (now a luxurious Royal Hideaway Hotel), inside an old train carriage that is capable of transporting us to another era. The gastronomic journey begins on the station platform (dating from 1928) and a safe passage takes us back to the living history of the place, to a time between the wars when there was no shortage of spies.

Among the speakers at Andorra Taste 2024 will be one of the leading figures in Catalan cuisine, Carles Gaig (Gaig, Barcelona). Multi-award-winning and renowned, Carles Gaig draws on the tradition of Catalan culinary memory to dress his dishes in avant-garde and contemporary style. A gastronomic profile that has been progressively established in the different incarnations of Restaurant Gaig, opened by his grandparents in 1869 as the Taberna d'en Gaig.

Wines and Andorran cuisine

Wine will also be an important part of the event with the presence of Almudena Alberca. Master of Wine and technical director of Entrecanales Domecq (Spain), she is part of the female revolution in the world of wine and became the first female Master of Wine (MW) in Spain in 2018. With her, we will delve into high-altitude wines through a tasting in which Alberca will select wines aged at altitude. 

As could not be otherwise, the presence of Andorran chefs will also be relevant in this third edition. From the most traditional Andorran cuisine, which will have its leading role with a round table dedicated to talking about the bordas (old huts used in the world of agriculture and/or livestock) converted into gastronomic experiences, to the most daring or avant-garde cuisine championed by chefs or chefs who have decided to settle in Andorra. This is the case of the Italian Andrea Tumbarello, also known as ‘the king of the truffle’ because of the prominence he gives to this product, and who will soon open the Andrea Tumbarello Trattoria in Soldeu; or Jordi Grau, Francis Paniego's right-hand man at the starred Sol i Neu at the Club Hermitage (Soldeu). Andorra Taste will also feature chefs from the principality such as Àlex Kinchella (La Cort del Popaire, Soldeu), representative of emerging Andorran cuisine, and Rodrigo Martínez, chef at Beç (Escaldes-Engordany).

Unique lunches and dinners 

In addition to the professional days, popular activities, showcooking sessions and children's sessions, Andorra Taste will also be the setting for a series of unique and unprecedented gastronomic activities, with four-, six- and eight-handed lunches and dinners prepared jointly by local chefs and several of the international chefs taking part in the event.

The event will be held in person in Andorra for professionals from the sector and the specialised press, but it can also be followed online through its digital platform so that the enormous potential of the Principality can be observed from anywhere in the world.