On this occasion we deal with the conversation that took place in Madrid between Andoni Aduriz y Dabiz Munoz. Both expressed their opinion on the current gastronomic panorama and the evolution of the kitchen. What does mental health or business administration have to do with this? Find out.
between stoves
The colloquium took place in the Forum Box, in Madrid's Paseo Del Prado. He was moderated by the general director of Vocento Gastronomy, Benjamin Lana. In this, Dabiz Muñoz of Diverxo and Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz exchanged their views on the more and gastronomy. Thus, both expressed themselves in a light tone while Lana led the conversation.
The first, better known among young people, stands out for its cuisine nonconformist. This one, unlike Adúriz's, is based on experimenting by adding more things. It sounds like a crude simplification but it is the easiest way to understand it. Since the 12 years he knew he wanted to own a restaurant. What's more, when his family told him to eat out, he received the news "as if he were going to the amusement park."
On the contrary, his friend Adúriz has more years of life and experience. His restaurant in San Sebastián is the laboratory in which he leads 25 years experimenting. It does so by trying to get to the essence of food in the simplest way possible. His cooking is based more on subtract to add. This same chef was the one who pronounced the sentence “grandmas are overrated”. However, he argued his words.
What is a restaurant?
He defends that the conception of gastronomy has changed and people not only value the food itself. people want share, enjoy and eat in different ways. For this reason, he conceives a gradual reduction of kitchens in homes. Thus, he imagines a world in which it is increasingly common to replace the kitchen with restaurants on the street. This is already happening in countries of Asia like Thailand and thus imagine the future in the West.
«The world changes but human impulses do not». As for the grandmothers, he maintains that today's «They are the ones who hit jumps in the Madrid scene, they are not interested in cooking«. Dabiz Muñoz, for his part, also believes that the concept of the restaurant has changed. He assured that before it was essential to have a good location and the best infrastructure to succeed. That is why they called him crazy when he started in a mediocre location in a place described by him as ugly.
However, he maintained that he knew how to provide his clients with the type of experience they were looking for. He maintained that today people want to go to a restaurant "let me tell you things«. These unique experiences come from there being «soul behind still eating a cooked soup».
Madrid cuisine in constant change
“I have seen an energy that I had never seen before”. "Madrid is liked". Both chefs are surprised by the evolution of the gastronomic scene in Madrid in recent years. "I didn't have so much offer on such a scale". Dabiz sees the city as a vibrant place that he compares to the London of when he was 20 years old. A place where everyone wants to do things and goes out to enjoy. In addition, both agree that these businesses are supported by the middle class that a tribute is given every once in a while.
Dabiz Muñoz: "Many things have been done wrong regarding the professionalization of the trade"
The two chefs rely on the best professionals to run their restaurants. For example, Aduriz stated that he is not considered particularly talented. If he has gotten to where he is, it is because he surrounds himself with the best team. Dabiz, for his part, assures that it gives him peace to work with people he likes. He acknowledged having sacrificed a lot to get to the top. He even said that worked up to 15 hours a day as a young man. He does not regret it since he considers that it contributed a lot to him but he does not believe that it is the healthiest thing. However, today he would opt for other paths.
These conditions were imposed by the sector and now he understands that there is a lack of personnel to cover positions in the kitchen. With the pandemic, the importance of mental health and therefore understands that cooks want to have life. Besides, He stressed the importance of his team. He hired a kitchen operations manager after much thought, as his salary cost him a lot. In the long run he has won and today it is better to eat at DiverXO because a cook does not know how to manage everything.
To finish, we comment on Adúriz's view that people like optimism, impudence, nonchalance… behind a project. The public values committed efforts and people appreciate the results of the work of the most passionate people. He became a chef by chance, more than a vocation (after leaving school early) and he knew how to do the best he could until he became a reference. What does the future of gastronomy hold for us?
