NOT KIDDING AROUND

Child’s Play: How a legion of Spain’s leading Michelinstarred chefs did their bit for top children’s charity

THEY came from the four corners of Spain and its islands to give a lucky group of children a cooking masterclass.

Over 40 Michelin starred chefs - including triple-starred Elena Arzak and Valencia’s famous Begona Rodrigo,- pooled their amazing knowledge to create a dozen dishes for a charity event.

Cribbing from recipes pegged out on each table, the 150 kids, including over a dozen expats, tried their hand at shelling peanuts, making a guacamole sauce or mixing fruits for a gourmet dessert.

One British expat, Adrianna Rose Morton, 6, (right) told the Olive Press she was ‘super excited’ about being at the event in Benahavis, on the Costa del Sol.

Showing off her (half eaten) dessert with a beaming smile - minus her front two teeth - she insisted she had ‘learnt a lot’.

The main thing she had picked up from her cookery teachers, including Alicante’s leading two-Michelin star chef Kiko Moya, of L’Escaleta, in Cocentaina, was ‘you need a lot of concentration’.

“It makes me very proud to see this amazing display of positivity,” said chef Fernando Villasclaras, of Marbella’s El Lago. “Apart from the annual Michelin gala in November, you will never see so many of the country’s leading chefs together and everyone is having so much fun.”

This was a continual theme from the chefs who were quick to praise the massive boom that Andalucia has seen in its culinary offering over the last decade.

“The big revolution in Spanish cuisine is taking place here in Andalucia,” insisted two Michelin-starred Nacho Manzana, who has seven restaurants in the Asturias region.

“I have been cooking with chefs from the south of Spain for 25 years who are so talented, but the region kept getting overlooked.

“I guess it was always finally going to get noticed, thanks to their talents, variety of ingredients and amazing climate. It is finally happening now.”

Navarra chef David Yarnoz, of Molino de Urdaniz, agreed. “Andalucian gastronomy has just got better and better. There are so many great places to eat down here now and it’s growing by the year.”

Begona Rodrigo, of one-star La Salita, in Valencia city, in particular, singled out Ronda’s Bardal restaurant and three-Michelin star Aponiente, in Cadiz, as her favourites.

“But I love coming down to the south, particularly Cadiz, for all the fun, the guitars and the partying. Andalucia was always the region with the most soul but the difference now is it also has great places to eat.”