- Los Montesinos fortunate to have fundamental values for cooking: product, tradition and sensitivity for cooking – Mayor Butron
By Andrew Atkinson
Los Montesinos were part of Madrid’s FITUR 40thanniversary celebrations held in January – lead by the Vega Baja town Mayor Jose Manuel Butron.
Around 142,000 travel professionals participated, with Madrid’s economy boosted to €320 million.
The 2020 FITUR, which took place at the IFEMA trade fair centre, had 918 exhibition stands, covering 165 countries and regions. 11,040 companies distributed throughout 10 pavilions.
National Parks, countryside, heritage, shopping and dining were on the menu from the Costa Blanca.
In FITUR’s 40-year history, Spain has become the second destination for tourists. In 2019, 83 million, almost double the population of 47.1 million, with holidaymakers spending a €92 billion in Spain annually.
Each year, a different country becomes a FITUR ‘partner’. In 2020, it was South Korea, a country that attracts 17.5 million visitors annually, who celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations with Spain.
Los Montesinos were amongst the stand of the Generalitat Valenciana in FITUR, highlighting in the kitchens amongst the town’s attractions.
Los Montesinos Mayor José Manuel Butrón, the Councilor for Tourism, Ana Belén Juárez, and the mayor of Works and Social Services, Joaquín García and Nathalie Dubi, were in attendance.
The chef of La Herradura Restaurant, Aurora Torres, showcased a Traditional stew of desalted cod, fennel, potatoes and artichoke, which had previously been made by the chef of the Pizzeria-Restaurant La Posada, Luis García.
“With this seasonal dish, Los Montesinos wanted to show the great gastronomic richness of the municipality, demonstrating that the traditional is perfectly compatible with innovation and with the preservation of the essence of flavours and the product”, said Ana Belén Juárez. The stew is made with desalted cod, fennel, potatoes and artichokes. The cod was kept in brine, aided by the salt of Las Salinas.
The potatoes and artichokes are from the Vega Baja, including the fennel grown wild in the fields of Los Montesinos.
The stew is also seasonal, very typical in the winter months and fennel is given, not only for the smell and flavor it brings but for its soothing, antioxidant and expectorant properties that help improve health.
“In Los Montesinos we are fortunate to have three fundamental values for cooking: product, tradition and sensitivity for cooking,” said Mayor Butron, who highlighted the culinary capacity of chefs who travelled to Madrid.
In 2019 Aurora Torres, for its ‘Rice with anchovies and artichokes from Vega Vega’, won the best rice in the Levant in the National Rice Competition. Luis García won the national prize for the best pizza.
La Herradura Restaurant and Restaurant-Pizzeria La Posada, represented Los Montesinos in FITUR 2019, offering a rice with rabbit and mountain ranges.
“The solidarity values of both, which in the case of the chef of La Herradura, Aurora Torres, materialised in a recognition of the Diputación de Alicante for having led a voluntary movement of the catering sector during the September DANA.
“Something that helped, not only to cleaning tasks, but also served to feed those who had been displaced and had nothing left,” said Mayor Butrón.
