Made in Madrid

FOOD TRENDS:Madrid Fusion is an annual summit for progressive chefs. MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBYwas in the audience for the 10th birthday event

PLANKTON, PINE CONE juice, reindeer heart, matured beef “seasoned” with mould, smoked piranha and . . . the definitive show-stealer, tarantula meat. “The Earth – Our Pantry” was one of the main themes of the 10th annual Madrid Fusion gastro festival held in the Spanish capital, and the pantry in question was a very exotic one indeed.

Part conference, part spectacle, Madrid Fusion attracts chefs from all over the world who pay a fee of €400 to attend the three-day jamboree at which some of the biggest names in world gastronomy gather to share information, demonstrate their latest techniques and show off unabashedly to their peers. This year’s line-up included: UK chef Heston Blumenthal; Nathan Myhrvold and Maxime Bilet, co-authors of the six-volume, 2,438-page Modernist Cuisine; French chefs and restaurateurs Michel and César Troisgros; Swedish chefs Magnus Ek and Magnus Nilsson; Daniel Patterson from Coi in San Francisco; Christina Tosi from Momofuku Milk Bar; and a galaxy of Spanish Michelin star holders including Dani García, Elena Arzak and Joan and Jordi Roca.

Heston Blumenthal got a rapturous welcome from the capacity crowd in the main auditorium on the second day of the show, even though he was taking it easy, relaxing in a leather armchair and chatting about his food philosophy rather than cooking in the demonstration theatre. “Ultimately, it comes down to taste,” he said, simply.

“Food should give pleasure; but you’re always going to have a level of subjectivity. McDonald’s please the most people in the world, so what does that say about food and cooking?”

There was a sharp intake of breath when Blumenthal’s interviewer asked him if he thought molecular gastronomy was dead – obviously she hadn’t been briefed on his strongly negative opinion of the term. “I believe it was never alive. It makes no sense to me,” he said in a voice dripping with disdain.

“Modernist cuisine is much more apt,” he added, in a perfectly timed reference to the next “act” – Nathan Myhrvold and Maxime Bilet and their groundbreaking research project and subsequent six-volume publication. Myhrvold, a mathematician, inventor and former scientific director of Microsoft, wrote Modernist Cuisine along with Bilet and Chris Young, who have both been part of Blumenthal’s development team at The Fat Duck. The subtitle of their magnum opus is The Art and Science of Cooking. “We believe cooking is an art; it is an art that is informed by science, which gives the artist – the chef – greater possibilities.”

The five large-format volumes and a sixth, a kitchen manual printed on washable paper, are encased in a plexiglass slipcover. Together they weigh more than 20 kilos, and carry a commensurately hefty £395 (€476) price tag.

In the only one-hour slot of the three days (most participants were restricted to between 20 and 30 minutes), the Seattle duo kept their audience spellbound with a mixture of science, gastronomy and showmanship. Those dramatic cutaway images that depict what’s going on inside a pot while one of their creations is cooking? Yes, they do actually slice pots, pans and containers open. Those arresting images of a kernel of popcorn “popping”, and a droplet of water waiting to “drop”? Taken by one of the most sophisticated cameras in the world.

Perhaps the most illustrative moment in the 60-minute whirlwind exploration with Myhrvold and Bilet came when they used a centrifuge to spin pea puree into three distinct layers: a starchy one, a “fatty” layer and clear, concentrated pea juice on top. Using these three components, Bilet showed how a ravioli dough could be made with the starchy layer, which was then stuffed with the “fatty” layer and drizzled with the concentrated juice. “Is it unnatural? No it’s a celebration of the pea,” Myhrvold said.

Madrid Fusion 2012 was a riot of creativity and controlled experimentation, and a window on world cuisine. Those larder staples referred to earlier popped up in various demonstrations throughout the three days. The plankton was used by Ángel León of Aponiente restaurant near Cadiz, whose dish inspired by an imaginary fairytale – The Fish that Wanted to Be Something Else – became lamb of the sea, with three different fish masquerading as rack, breast and tripe of lamb.

Pine cone juice (from young green cones) was squeezed over quail by Miquel Ángel de la Cruz of La Botica in Valladolid in a presentation that harnessed the medicinal properties of herbs and vegetables. Smoked reindeer heart was one of the ingredients used by Sweden’s Magnus Ek, along with lichen, cured lumpfish roe and buttermilk curd. His compatriot Magnus Nilsson has just 12 seats at his Faviken restaurant on a farm in remote northern Sweden, so when he kills beef – “an old cow after two or three calves”, he must find ways of using and preserving all of the meat. He has perfected several means of extending the ageing of beef, including one that seasons the meat with slow-growth mould. “The mould acts like a seasoning for the beef, a little like cheese,” he said.

And the tarantula? That came on the final day, when Venezuelan chef Nelson Mendez cooked one with a blowtorch as part of an Amazonian food demonstration. Those who got to eat it said it tasted like crab. Definitely not one for the squeamish.

Marketplace for innovative new products

Olive oil spheres, ready to use from a jar; vegetable laminate sheets to roll up colourful sushi; sancho peppercorns fermented in Korean soya for five years; water that doesn't see light until you pour it into your glass – there were all sorts of exciting new products to interest chefs and food buyers at Madrid Fusion. The Ferran Adrià-inspired olive oil pearls, called Caviaroli, drew considerable attention, particularly as they hold their shape in the jar for a year ( caviaroli.com).

Basque chef Senén Gonzáles made some beautiful vegetable sushi rolls and cones (right) with ready-to-use vegetable laminate sheets, made with beets, red peppers and carrots ( laminasvegetales.com).

The incredible sancho peppercorns were part of a range of condiments shown by Sempio, a company from Korea, this year's partner country at the show. Janet Kim, international public relations manager for the company, explained that it was looking for European distribution for the range, which includes some exceptional condiments made with gluten-free Korean soya, including a golden soya powder that surprised and delighted tasters ( sempio.com).