ALICANTE – If there is one thing that belongs to the basic dishes of Spain, it is the tortilla, the Spanish potato omelette. An ideal tapa for the quick appetite, prepared with potato, egg and – depending on the chef’s preference – also onion.
But, according to many, the onion as an ingredient even divides the country in two. Moreover, for one half, processing onion in a tortilla is not done. But for the other half, a tortilla without onion is not really a tortilla. There is also controversy about the boiling point. Do people prefer a more liquid texture inside or does the tortilla have to be cooked all the way through?
Because of these kinds of discussion points, competitions are regularly organised to find out which restaurant prepares the best tortilla. This is also the case during the culinary feria in Alicante, the ‘Alicante Gastronómica’. On Sunday, the best tortilla in Spain was chosen there.
Eleven chefs, selected from around the country’s leading specialists in tortilla preparation, were put to work demonstrating why their version of the ‘tortilla Española’ should win gold. Furthermore, each participant made a tortilla of 6 to 8 servings. These were not only tasted by the jury but also offered to the public.
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The candidates had to make their tortilla in front of a jury with a lot of knowledge and at a high level. Furthermore, Rafael García Santos presided over a team of judges with several Michelin stars. Among which were Quique Dacosta, Carme Ruscalla, Kiko Moya, Fran Martínez José Gómez ‘Joselito’, Pepa Fernández, culinary critic from RNE and Jacob Torreblanca from Pastelería Torreblanca’.
Two winners
Due to the “spectacular level” of the tortillas, the full jury agreed that this edition was the most difficult of all. This was reflected in the fact that four judges chose a tortilla and the other four chose a different tortilla. This draw motivated the jury to award two tortillas for once. Thus, the top prizes of the XV edition of the Spanish potato omelette competition went to chef Carlos Olabuenaga from Logroño from restaurant Tizona and Alberto Alberto García Ponte and Ana María Suárez from Mesón O Pote from Betanzos (A Coruña).
Other participants
The participants were;
- Alberto García Ponte and Ana María Suárez, from Mesón O Pote (Betanzos, A Coruña)
- Pedro Jose Roman, of Restaurante Cañadio (Santander)
- Pepa Miranda, of Casa Miranda Restaurant (Betanzos, A Coruna)
- Ángel and Ramón Marugal, from Tortillería La Concordia (Logroño)
- Isabel Gesto and Ramón Rodríguez, of Restaurante O Cabo (A Coruña)
- Carmen Carro and Santi Pedraza, from Taberna Pedraza (Madrid)
- Paz Corral, of Cafeteria Pizcueta 14 (Valencia)
- Ana Uli and Humberto Segura, from Antonio Bar (San Sebastian)
- Carlos Quintana, of Cafeteria Emar (Vitoria-Gasteiz)
- Javier Cadario and Antonio Reyes, from Cucú Food Experience (Murcia)
- Carlos Olabuenaga, from Restaurante Tizona (Logroño).
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