In total, twenty-seven chefs compete in Zamora this Monday and Tuesday as part of the I Official Pinchos and Tapas Competition Castilla y León, promoted by the Government of Castilla y León and organized by the Regional Confederation of Hotels and Tourism, which represents more than 2,700 companies in the sector.
“We We seek traditional cuisine and innovation. It is a competition which combines tradition and talent and which adapts perfectly to our lines of action. We opted for cultural, gastronomic and nature tourism. In this sense, tapas are a start,” said the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports, Gonzalo Santonja. “It is wonderful to take a long walk through the Romanesque churches of Zamora, to taste excellent tapas, to savor our cuisine and, at the end, to digest with an excursion through nature”, observed Ical.
The competition has a jury whose members have accumulated nine Michelin stars, as well as professionals of gastronomic journalism, chaired by Jesús Sánchez, awarded with three Michelin stars, three soles from the Repsol Guide, member of the Repsol Sustainable Horeca Community and one green star . for his restaurant ‘El Cenador de Amós’, in Cantabria.
The creations of the competition will be evaluated by Ricardo Costa, of the restaurant “The Yeatman”, in Porto (two Michelin stars); the Asturian chef Ricardo Sotres, of “El Retiro”, in Llanes (one Michelin star, two Suns from the Repsol Guide); Cynthia Yaber, from the “Arzak” restaurant in San Sebastián (three Michelin stars and three suns from the Repsol guide); Mandi Ciriza, director of Canal Cocina, the only Spanish television channel specializing in gastronomy; Melinda Padilla, responsible for the gastronomic rating system of the Repsol Guide and Miriam López, deputy director of Grupo Gourmets.
The advisor assured that they always bet “on quality” and highlighted the “magnificent” jury. “And we do it with those who must do it and who lead the hotel and tourism industry of Castilla y León. This is another of our characteristics. “We always rely on collaboration, on our land and on our people,” he stressed.
Likewise, he highlighted the possibilities that open up in the provinces of Zamora, Salamanca and in the areas bordering Portugal, expressly mentioning the conference ‘Crossing the Line: flavors without borders’, which will be held from November 1 to December 9, in collaboration with Turismo de Porto e Norte and Turismo do Centro.
“Quality of talents”
For her part, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Leticia García, congratulated the Confederation of Hotels and Tourism of Castilla y León for the organization of the Competition, which constitutes “a way of giving visibility to the qualities of our welcome and our catering” and agreed with the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports, mentioning “the quality of the talent” displayed during the competition. “Ultimately, when these qualities are manifested, our young people are encouraged to opt for this profession, for these qualities of innovation through masterful creations through tapas, which demonstrate the quality and professionalism of the food sector hotel and catering industry,” he declared. evaluated.
“This means economic revitalization and job creation. For this reason, I also appreciate the effort made by the Ministry of Culture with these events, which end up generating jobs and more by highlighting important aspects from the point of view of employment because we avoid the seasonality of this type of job. “, he stressed.
Likewise, Leticia García stressed that the Council “bets” on the training in the hotel industrywhich requires “so much work and has so much difficulty filling positions” for servers. “We are available to the sector with training, listing different courses, with 138 courses that we have taken this year in the area of the unemployed; 128, for employees, to improve qualifications in the field of hospitality,” he listed.
Finally, the advisor reminded companies of the “hiring incentive”, with 4,500 euros, to which are added an additional 1,000 euros, “5,500 euros for hiring workers” in the hotel industry.
The event took place in the presence of the president of the Confederation of Hotels and Tourism of Castile and León, Jaime Fernández; the president of the Provincial Council of Zamora, Javier Faúndez; the financial advisor of the Zamora City Hall, Diego Bernardo, and the communications technician of the Caja Rural de Zamora, Laura Huertos, among other representatives of public and private institutions and entities.
