It rained (Michelin) stars at this year’s San Sebastian Gastronomika

Every year in October, the quaint, coastal town of San Sebastian in northern Spain brims to life with chefs, food journalists, culinary students and vendors. They all gather for one of Europe’s most important hospitality industry conferences: San Sebastián Gastronomika. This year marked the 26^th edition of the conference.

What is San Sebastian Gastronomika?

San Sebastián Gastronomika is the world’s longest-standing gastronomy congress, a kind of UN for the world of food. Held at the Kursaal, architect Rafael Moneo’s prismatic, cube-like structures along the city’s seashore, San Sebastián, Spain, it unites the world’s best chefs for a series of exciting lectures on the latest in the culinary world as well as a popular trade fair. Among the star speakers this year included Karime López (head chef Of Massimo Bottura in Florence, Italy) the first Mexican woman to receive a Michelin star, Virgilio Martínez of the Peruvian restaurant Central, Lima, awarded the best restaurant in the world by The World’s 50Best 2024 list, Frenchman Fabien Ferré who, at 34, won over the Michelin inspectors and achieved three stars in one night, becoming the youngest in the history of the Red Guide in his country, José Avillez, the acclaimed chef behind Lisbon’s two Michelin-starred Belcanto and Tim Flores and Genie Kwon chefs and owners of Kasama the world’s first Michelin starred Filipino restaurant which operates as a bakery by day and a restaurant by night in Chicago. Additionally, there’s usually a guest country — this year it was Portugal.

Unlike other culinary events, attendees at San Sebastián Gastronomika have the unique opportunity to taste the dishes prepared by the chefs on stage. This creates a direct connection between the chefs and their cuisine. The event also features a fair held in a different area of the building. This is where you grab a snack or a glass of wine and socialize and network with other chefs and industry professionals. 

AI over humans
Will AI (Artificial Intelligence) triumph over humans in the world of gastronomy? What opportunities and challenges will it pose for chefs? In the minutes leading up to this presentation, the room packed up to the point that many attendees had to settle for standing room along the aisles and passageways of the auditorium. After all, it was a cook off between chef Ricard Camarena with a team comprising of physicist Eneko Axpe, (a NASA collaborator and professor at Harvard) chemist Laia Badal and chef Daniel Barrionuevo. The challenge for both teams was to make a starter using ingredients chosen by the attendees — tuna, figs, chestnuts, a main course with hake (a soft, white, flaky fish) and a reinterpretation of the classic carrot cake for dessert. While Camarena cooked using his knowledge of cuisine and intuition, the other team led by physicist EnekoAxperelied on AI. A jury evaluated the dishes, without knowing who had prepared each dish.

While Camarena won the first two dishes (starter and the main course using hake), there was a tie for the dessert. For the dessert AI proposed a carrot in textures with a pureed carrot cream; a classic carrot cake sponge, carrot liquefied gelatine as well as carrot chips. Camarena reversed the concept with a biscuit mousse, glazed carrots, yoghurt and coffee oil. The jury felt that the starter and the main course made by the AI backed team lacked soul. The desserts by both team failed to impress the jury and resulted in a tie. Axpe concluded that AI, while impressive, still has shortcomings when it comes to creating haute cuisine. The AI’s output requires human interpretation and adjustment. Despite losing a challenge against a renowned chef, Axpe was highly impressed by the AI’s ability to create sophisticated dishes. “The AI has blown me away with these dishes. The fact that I can compete with Camarena seems brutal to me,” he concluded.

World on a plate
Apart from top chefs meticulously presenting their latest technical achievements and demonstrating mind-bending dishes, there were engaging talks on the importance of produce. In his headlining presentation, Pepe Solla of one Michelin starred restaurant Casa Solla (Poio, Pontevedra) stressed the fact that good produce will always be the protagonist of haute cuisine. “Young people are often more concerned with technique such as sperification. No one comes to see a fresh sea bass or tear pea when it comes every morning, which is the essence of a restaurant. This is really sad,” he lamented. To demonstrate freshness he brought two sea bass to the auditorium caught at the same time in the same place but using two different methods of fishing. “One day we should be able to ensure that what comes out on the plate is as exceptional as when it lived in the sea,” he appealed. Chef and owner Eneko Atxa who runs the three-Michelin-starred Azurmendiin Bizkaia, Spain made a fascinating presentation on aroma as an invisible ingredient. Atxa who has spent years researching, innovating and perfecting techniques that transform aromas into something practically edible, demonstrated how he incorporates the scent of freshly baked bread, cut grass, woods, embers and roasted chestnuts into his dishes at Azurmendi.

There was an especially compelling presentation by Marco Antonio Iniesta, chef at the Frases restaurant in Murcia, on sausages made with vegetables. Iniesta brought with him four types of sausage which included an aubergine sausage with pine nuts and pepper cooked in vinegar and lemon for twelve hours, a beetroot jerky with a meaty texture, a pumpkin chorizo cured for ten days and a soft spreadable tomato sausage. 

British chef of Chinese descent, Andrew Wong, gave a talk titled ‘There is no such thing as Chinese food.’ “If I dedicated my whole life to getting to know China, I would die in ignorance,” emphasised Wong, who runs the A.Wong restaurant in London. The sheer size of the country with 14 borders, a 3,000-year history and frenetic growth, makes it impossible to get to know the cuisine in depth. However, he ventured to predict the trend that will drive Chinese cuisine into the future — tofu driven by the development of bio fuels, of which soya is one of the most important. “As only 20 percent is harvested, other uses are being sought for the surplus, so we will see more and more products made from soya. Fortunately, we know this well in China,” he explained.