Gastronomic clashes return to Madrid as two celebrated chefs, Fernando Carrasco and Julián Barros, join forces with Roberto Martínez Foronda of Mawey Taco Bar. Together they host a friendly duel at the Tripea market’s Vallehermoso location, inviting guests to crown the winner of a delicious Sunday dinner confrontation that showcases distinct approaches to tacos and tasting menus.
The event plunges guests into a true taco festival, a bold celebration of flavors and textures designed to surprise and delight. The competition kicks off at 8:00 pm, taking place inside the Mawey kitchen facilities at San Bernardo, offering an intimate glimpse into the chefs’ creative processes as they present inspired taco creations to the audience.
It is a single, focused evening during which the chefs will serve original tacos at dinner time. The experience is priced at 45 euros per person and includes a welcome cocktail, six unique tacos per guest, and a shared dessert. Reservations can be made directly through the Mawey website or at the Gran Vía restaurant’s reservations desk, or by phone. The event invites diners to discover three new Mawey creations: a bold oxtail chilorio taco featuring three peppers, pico de gallo, and fresh coriander; an Angus picaña taco with chiltepin and a touch of cured cheddar; and a notable ibérico cheese taco finished with major, sobrassada, and morita chili sauce.
On the opposing side, Roberto Martínez Foronda blends strength with ingenuity. His menu includes a cevichado shrimp taco inspired by Baja California, a grilled red tuna parpatana enchiloplada with green tomatillo and shisho creole, and finally a lomo saltado and huancaína inspired taco that showcases his versatile technique and fearless flavor pairings.
The evening can be rounded off with Mawey’s beverage selection, a curated list that bridges tradition and experimentation. Guests will find beermicheladas, a range of tequilas, savory bites, and cocktails that cover both classic profiles and original, house-made creations.
Fernando Carrasco and Julián Barrios celebrate their Mawey philosophy with this gastronomic showdown, a playful expansion of their more casual Mawey Cartel concept, which already features burritos and operates across three Galician locations in Vigo, Santiago de Compostela, and A Coruña. The duo has built a reputation for hands-on kitchen craft and a fearless approach to corn tortillas, focusing on honest flavors and precise technique rather than flashy presentation alone.
As the cooks at Mawey explain, the aim is to deliver a meticulous kitchen experience centered on the tortilla and its fillings, while also inviting a conversation with one of the moment’s most creative chefs, Roberto Martínez Foronda. The Tripea counter at Vallehermoso is part of a broader Madrid food scene that embraces market-fresh products, seasonal twists, and collaborative dining that invites guests to taste daily what the market has to offer. Martínez Foronda’s drive is to explore unexpected flavor combinations and regional influences that challenge even the most adventurous palates.
Guests should expect a one-night-only event that blends competition, collaboration, and culinary storytelling. The chefs’ approaches—Carrasco and Barros with Mawey’s bold, approachable style and Martínez Foronda with his adventurous, ingredient-forward methods—promise a memorable dining experience that reflects Madrid’s dynamic gastronomic landscape. The evening stands as a celebration of direct, craft-driven cooking and the joy of sharing a table with fellow food lovers, all within the vibrant atmosphere of a market counter that has become a beloved part of the city’s culinary tapestry. The event highlights the careful balance between tradition and innovation that defines contemporary Mexican-inspired and Spanish-influenced street food refined through modern techniques, and it marks another exciting chapter in Mawey’s ongoing culinary exploration at Tripea in Vallehermoso.