The clandestine dinners that are revolutionizing Murcia
The weekend is coming. It's time to confirm the plans, write to that friend you haven't seen for a long time –if it weren't for the Instagram stories–, meet up with the in-laws or opt for a romantic dinner, with or without candles.
And with the arrival of the weekend, the ‘ Tripadvisor agony ’, that terrifying experience of facing an endless list of restaurants, rating stars and reviews of strangers strongly recommending that you try the tuna tataki from such and such a place and not order the cheesecake from such and such a place.
What is supposed to help you choose where to have dinner on that special night when you want everything to go well, ends up making your ideas knot up and your ability to judge is reduced to a final choice, which you knew was coming: going to the same restaurant every month or, in the worst cases, every week. Which has its charm, of course. And you know what you like, and they call you by your name and they save you the best table.
Clandestine dinners triumph in Murcia!
But from time to time the surprise ingredient is missed, discovering a chef or a bar whose name you did not know or whose website you have not visited. Those places where you end up by chance. New, different, unknown places... or even clandestine.
That is precisely the concept of the new movement that has emerged in Murcia, ** Fash Food **, a different and, above all, surprising way of enjoy gastronomy beyond trendy stores, avocados and oxtail cannelloni. Fash Food is not only tasting with the palate, but with hearing, sight, touch. and do it without even knowing where you're going!
Is about clandestine dinners held in unique and original spaces –fashion ateliers, museums or even dealerships– and from which only the chef, date, time, and zip code are disclosed where the venue is located.
out worries Will it be too noisy? Will they do vegan dishes? What if my father-in-law doesn't like it?–, the only important thing is the enjoyment of the present, the exclusivity and that intrigue that, why deny it?, makes us feel like little children waiting for a birthday surprise.
“We all want to feel special. We create an ephemeral and unique feeling”, account to Traveler.es Jose Angel Cuenca Director of Communication at Bar Taberna de Ideas, the agency that, together with Lalumier Events & Communication, is behind the project.
The five senses are the guests of honor
“The next day, the place where you had dinner will be a car dealership or a thread store again. And what you experienced will be proof that you were "the lucky one" to get a place in a dinner that will never be repeated again", points out José Ángel.
The word 'monotony' is prohibited, and the five senses are the guests of honor. So avoid making plans after dinner. With Fash Food you will have the complete evening!
“Fash Food is much more than dining out. It is an event worthy of the best collectors of gastronomic experiences. The main dish is the chef, and the art, the garnish”, José Ángel tells Traveler.es
"Because, in addition to enjoying unique flavors, the arty vibe it's essential. “You only have to see how the great chefs with Michelin stars do it to understand that the staging and feel at all times that you are experiencing something unique, it is important for today's diner", he continues.
The diner is one more element of the show!
"For this reason, we turn each Fash Food appointment into something very careful. We start from a menu that each chef prepares exclusively for the appointment, with a pairing created ad hoc, with artistic accompaniment to accompany and reinforce each universe of the dinners and, above all, with a lot of surprises so that the expectation of the diner does not wane throughout the evening", he concludes.
Each dinner revolves around a concept that permeates each one of the elements, from the menu to the decoration, in order to “transport the diner to very different temporal universes”.
Can you imagine having dinner at a shakespearian dreamlike atmosphere Like in A Midsummer Night's Dream? And in a futuristic Tokyo to the Lost in translation? Well, stop imagining, because this is what Fash Food dinners achieve.
"We created our own universe, a set design in which the diners come together as actors of that ephemeral and gastronomic performance. In each appointment we are inspired by details such as the type of cuisine that the chef does, the place where it is celebrated, some dish, even the date, José Ángel tells Traveler.es
In a shop? In a museum? Where are we having dinner today?
And diners are not left out of this gear of experiences. They also have to play their role so that everything works and is unrepeatable. “The diner throughout this process is conceived as a dynamic agent, who changes at each appointment: from looking for looks under the dress code marked for dinner to lending yourself to the surprises that the night is showing them”, explains José Ángel.
As in the last of the dinners held, in which attendees were asked to dress according to a dress code ‘hot fluor’. In this case, the 'hot fluor' was in accordance with the chosen Japanese theme: the aware, a Japanese term that, as the organizers tell us, “reflects the sensitivity and nostalgia towards an ephemeral experience.”
For visitors from outside the area who love gastronomic tourism: do not panic! The Region of Murcia and the 'murcianica' personality are 100% present "in each one of the details", says Jose Angel.
“The raw material, the pairing with Estrella de Levante beer and wines from Jumilla or the talent that comes together in each of these events: chefs, sommeliers and mixologists, accompanying artists, models, designs... Even the ambassadors of each dinner, those who open their businesses to us as if it were their home, he points out.
Each dish has been created especially for the occasion
Fash Food Follow is yet another example that, moving away from stereotypes, Murcia is emerging as a city at the forefront of gastronomic and cultural currents, and that a creative fabric is being created among its young people that make it an increasingly attractive destination. Yes, we promise you, it is much more than beach, heat and vacationers with socks and flip flops!
"Murcia has that welcoming and gastronomic personality that we just want to promote with this type of action Fast food. Who loves the Danish hygge welcome feeling that is so fashionable, can not stop coming to visit the Region of Murcia, with a much more pleasant climate, by the way! ”, He jokes.
Fresh salted foie gras and carrot cake; creamy smoked eggplant with spicy asparagus; mussel, pak choi and kimchi; Roasted leek, eel and roasted onion cream with toasted beer… sounds good, right? And even more so if we know that each dish has been created especially for the occasion.
"We create an ephemeral and unique feeling"
“We send each chef the concept of her dinner so that they can create a menu exclusively for her, unique and unrepeatable. The chef joins this experience not only as a gastronomic director, but also as a storyteller for each dish. An oyster with gin and tonic foam, or a Murcian ramen have a special flavor if you eat it within this experience”, explains José Ángel.
To this is added the witness the mastery of each chef in a kitchen environment they are not used to. “At each appointment, the assembly logistics of the open kitchen and the room next to it is perhaps the most delicate part, since it must adapt to the space and its conditions while creating a comfortable climate so that the restoration team can shine", he says.
Fashion ateliers, dealers... the mystery is served!
What more could you want? The term 'reinvent', which we use so happily from time to time, takes on its full meaning here. “We love gastronomy and we have been wanting to do gastronomic events for a small audience for a long time a lot of artistic charge, with a very powerful concept and art direction”, concludes José Ángel.
“Fash Food is also born from the need to put gastronomy at the height of art and of encourage high-quality raw material that our Region has. We are the garden of Europe! That is why we said to ourselves, why not convene experiential dinners in Murcia at the same level as the great capitals of Europe?”
Said and done. The #fashfood movement is already going full steam ahead, and the next step is to create a traveling tour to combine talent from different parts of the country and, who knows?, maybe turn it into a global gastronomic and cultural movement. The next one is Thursday, November 22.
We're in for sure!
Only the chef, date, time, and zip code of the place are disclosed