“The Mengers” are back

INFORMATION newspaper wants to support such an important sector for the province and this contributes greatly to the increase of tourist attractions of Costa Blanca. It was during the opening of the exhibition last year. “Manjars of the World. The Gastronomic Legacy of González Pomata»Organized by the Fundación Mediterráneo and the President of the University of Alicante Carmencita to honor the famous figure of writers and journalists, where the directors of INFORMATION were promoted to re-evaluate the local cuisine, including the gastronomy weeks held between 1987 and 1994. Alicante decided to save the event.

revised formula

With its renewed formula, «Menjars de la Terra» will tour the regions of Alicante to highlight the rich and diverse provincial gastronomy, with special emphasis on traditional cuisine and local products. Thus, the products of the Province’s Origin Denominations will have a significant presence, from PDO Vinos Alicante to Vinalopó’s Bagged Table Grape, Traditional Spirits, Alicante Mountain Cherries, Granada Mollar de Elche. products from Alicante, such as loquats from Callosa d’en Sarrià and Nougat from Jijona and Alicante, as well as artichokes from Vega Baja or red shrimp from Dénia.

The sessions, which will be held with the support of the Provincial Assembly and in cooperation with the regulatory boards of the Alicante Origin Sects, will run from Monday to Friday and will have the opportunity to perform at a different restaurant every day. It will have to comply with a set of criteria set by a committee of experts made up of a representative of the Alicante Provincial Association of Hospitality Operators (APEHA), which is part of its gastronomic presentation on a menu tailored for this event. The other two identified by the Alicante Restaurants Association (ARA) and INFORMATION. This committee will pre-evaluate the menus to be presented during the conference, with special emphasis on our wine, which is indispensable in each menu, with local products coming to the fore and the introduction of traditional Alicante cuisine is obligatory. As a priority, the participation of the Sects of Origin of the province will also be a priority.

The menus, which are determined as a single price of 40 Euro per person (including drinks) according to the region of the day, will include a mandatory ingredient such as Bagged Table Grapes when they come to Alto. and Half Vinalopó or nougat in l’Alacantí.

reactions

President of the Provincial Assembly, Carlos MazonRegarding this BİLGİ initiative to save the “Menjars de la Terra” and tour the culinary richness of the province of Alicante during its gastronomic days, “any action that contributes to promoting our gastronomy is always great news. The province of Alicante has a great culinary treasure that we are obliged to support and disseminate; and in that sense, Menjars de la Terra is a magnificent undertaking. I will be proud to collaborate with the professionals in Alicante and our products from the Diputación de Alicante and the Costa Blanca Tourist Board. Congratulations on the knowledge initiative, I have no doubt that it will be successful».

He was one of the first to praise the INFORMATION initiative and signed up to attend La Sirena, his restaurant in Petrer. Mari Carmen VelezThe chef, who opened a new restaurant in Fuerteventura this summer, said: “I think it’s an interesting, proactive and effective way to highlight Alicante products and cuisine during gastronomic days. In addition to tastings, they allow coexistence and exchange of ideas». Velez recalls that “Menjars de la Terra was a boost for gastronomy a few decades ago and increased interest in learning about our culinary diversity and the places and establishments where good food is made. The idea of ​​highlighting some of our most emblematic or Denomination of Origin products through the menus at these conferences undoubtedly supports their knowledge and expands their use and consumption. One of the state’s most famous restaurateurs concludes: “I hope and wish that they will be as successful as their predecessors and that the attendees will enjoy gastronomically and socially”.

PDO President Vinos Alicante, José Juan Reus“It is very important for all of us mainstream media to be aware of and support the many and very good PDO products, to make consumers aware of the agricultural and environmental wealth we protect, and if so help gastronomy, much better”. Reus, of the importance to be given to the PDO regulatory boards ” I believe that it is highly appreciated, and I think that these are one of the most outstanding resources the province has for the representation, sustainability, quality and raw materials of our gastronomy. Moreover, in our case, he values ​​it doubly because of its enormous historical weight».

Activities

In addition, gastronomy-related events will be held prior to the development of the event, which usually coincides with the opening day of each of the gastronomy weeks. In this way, guided visits will take place, for example, to a winery, a spice or nougat factory, or a distillery.

«Menjars de la Terra» is once again a new commitment to the dissemination and development of KNOWLEDGE for Alicante gastronomy and an excellent opportunity to get to know some of the best restaurants in the state in exceptional conditions. They can’t miss this. Enjoy your meal.

Legacy of González Pomata

With this initiative, BİLGİ also Antonio Gonzalez Pomata (Alicante 1926-1996). There are many in the industry who remember his commendable work and applaud the return of “Menjars de la Terra” as a tribute to the figure of the author and journalist as well as being a dynamic event for the gastronomy industry.

as collected Ines Anton Dayas In his work «A reporter with a taste: Antonio González Pomata and Gastronomy in the 20th Century» for the Carmencita Chair of the University of Alicante, he spent a large part of his career as a journalist on cultural and provincial gastronomic value. «He was a supporter of a series of gastronomic days between 1987 and 1994, with an interest in saving the ethnographic heritage of Alicante, to re-evaluate the traditional cuisine and artifacts of the province of Alicante. They have become a relevant social action that has a significant weight in reformulating provincial gastronomic tourism”, summarizes the author. The 1st “Menjars de la Terra” Gastronomy Conference took place from 23 to 27 March 1987 at the Elche restaurant La Masía de Chencho, where there are such restaurants as Polamar de Santa Pola, Racó del Pla de Alicante, El Cruce de Almoradí, Vizcayo. de Castalla and the host himself. Those days were spent in the same restaurant and other guesthouses were coming and preparing their menus there.

The success led to the editing of more editions and so from the 18th to the 24th edition they were made in Santa Pola, Elche, Novelda, Altea, Orihuela, Benidorm, Alicante, Villena, Calp or Torrevieja. 1994. Dozens of first-class restaurants from all over the city displayed their menus in an atmosphere of healthy competition and friendliness. They were authentic forums where professionals and amateurs shared their experiences and feelings. An enriching social phenomenon. A

Antonio González Pomata is a part of the cultural history of the province as a defender and spreader of the traditional gastronomic value through his articles in the INFORMATION newspaper and his collections “Menjars de la Terra”. Different versions of gastronomy weeks played a fundamental role in defending the traditional cuisine, which later became so important to today’s haute cuisine. They have also become an act of social conformity with extraordinary weight in redefining gastronomic provincial tourism.

Text: FJ Benito.