2013: yes to blackboards
We have seen the decline of the great classics -Jockey, Balzac or El Chaflán have closed down- and with them a certain way of ironing tablecloths, of doing things, has died. We have seen how the avant-garde not only did not go out, but also exploded into a crucible of new paths. There is no longer a vanguard. There are as many avant-gardes as there are stars in the gastro firmament: Alija, Morales, Camarena, Dacosta, León or Muñoz. Perhaps it was necessary for the father to clap for the chickens to fly. Who knows.
We have seen how from gastrobars we went to neo-taverns, how the gin and tonic mutated into a stew and vegetables arrived at home via iPhone. We have seen pigs flying over Madrid, three stars landing in Dénia and how the gourmet hamburger reigned in the pages of foodie trends. A conclusion? this one: it has been the year of 'neighborhood haute cuisine'.
What does 2013 hold for us?
1. THERE IS AVANT-GARDE
In the post-bulli era, finally, there is no need to worry. And it is that once the route of the techno-emotional kitchen is exhausted (thank goodness) the paths of Paco Morales (from the garden to the table), David Munoz (fusion and emotion) , Josean Alija (extreme minimalism) , Andoni Luis Aduriz (reflection) and so many others are more than exciting.
two. FAMILIARITY
Perhaps it is the fault of the crisis, perhaps it is related to the decline of the five forks and the high crest on the table. The point is that it is more and more common to see how “another type” of establishments is born: restaurants like Motha (some very modern rustic ones), coffee shops like Olivia takes care of you or Ubik café or bistros like Canalla. Hand-painted blackboards, bicycles, books, sofas, pooches and love, lots of love . And it seems that a society whose family nucleus is breaking down more than a potato in the hands of Adrià, we need the tavern to be a bit of our home. Again.
The Aromando Bistrot bar
3. OUT OF LETTER
Market cuisine, but really . And it is that the term 'market cuisine' has been mistreated so much that we no longer even remember what it meant; seasonal cuisine, what is produced by local agriculture and sold in markets, what "touches" on the "anything goes" of preservatives and tuna fished in Tunisia. Under these rules, the card is unnecessary. I play. Perhaps the best consequence is that we will learn (because we don't know) that the foods we eat have seasons . Pumpkin in January and turbot in March, and so on.
Four. GASTROnauts
It was written better than well by Brenda Otero, the rise of a new type of gastronome: "Gourmets 2.0 or gastronauts, as they were baptized by the British press. Young, food-obsessed and technologically savvy . A new breed of gastronomic connoisseurs who do not count Michelin stars, consult leisure guides or worship the divas of the kitchen. They find mobile kitchens through Twitter , they find out about clandestine restaurants thanks to Facebook groups or they know what to order in a Chinese with an unintelligible menu thanks to their blogroll". Oh, and photos. If there is no photo, your recipe is not worth a damn. A gastropista: Evernote Food is love.
5. MORE COCKTAILS
The borders between cocktail bar and restaurant are broken. And it is that once again, Albert Adrià carries the torch high for what is to come. With Inopia he opened the ban on gastrobars, he pulled the concept of 'neighborhood haute cuisine' out of his sleeve and with 41 Grados he is doing it with cocktail restaurants. **Open your arms very wide to pair your hamburger with the gin and tonic** because this year you're going to get fed up.
Gin and tonics and hamburger: it's happening
6. MORE ORGANIC, CLOSER
Wines, meats, vegetables and even organically grown ice cream . Products free of pesticides, without transgenics and without antibiotics. From local crops, from here, very close. And it's been a long time since this choice has much more to do with pleasure -authentic aromas and flavors- than with that outdated hippie good-naturedness into which organic lovers have always been put. Hippies don't.
7.**SMALL PLATES (AND TO THE CENTER) **
It's time for dishes, snacks, starters and snacks. Tapas, bars and shared tables . The steak and the concept of a 'second' plate are over. The hegemony of the French tradition also in the menu not only ended in haute cuisine, it will also end in bars, restaurants and taverns. The consumer wants to share and try -many- dishes.
Small and natural dishes
8. THIS IS BABEL
2012 has been the year of Peru (of Gastón Acurio, ceviche and -ays- pisco sour) and this year it will be of Singapore (Muñoz, this is your fault), Vietnam (watch out for The Ginger Loft) and especially from Mexico. And it should not be a coincidence that the most interesting restaurant in Madrid today is Punto MX or that the next project of Los Hermanos Adrià is a restaurant with Aztec cuisine (which, they say, will be called Azul). Hold on, boats, tacos, quesadillas and kilos of guacamole are coming.
9. ON THE STREET
It's time for street food and pop up restaurants . We have touched the trend with Jordi Roca's ice cream truck and his adventure in Rocambolesc, with the wild finger food of StreetXO's street kitchen on the heights of Callao. El Noma opened a pop-up restaurant during the London Olympics and Jose Andrés hit it in Washington selling sandwiches from a truck. Food truck, they call it. Will this be the year of mobile bakeries and trucks with steak tartare in the middle of the Castellana? I wish.
10. WHAT THE BAND SOUNDS
Relax, the thing is not about mariachis. For the gastronaut, music and gastronomy are an inseparable whole (Steve Jobs's fault, perhaps?) and projects like Indie Kitchen (by my beloved Mario Suárez) or Paco Roncero's multisensory workshop are excellent clues to what's to come. And to sample, a button: the Diego Guerrero playlist.
eleven. POPCORN COMES OUT OF THE CINEMA
The snack of 2013 . Thinking about it, they are healthy (well made), they accompany any drink (of ten with a pisco sour), they smell really good and whatever they do with them will seem new to us: curry, with cheese or with ham and bacon, yum . popcorn of course they will be ecological.
Popcorn: the snack of 2013
12. MORE ETHICAL
I am glad of what is happening and -especially- of what is to come. Despite the losses, gastronomy is making a curious turn from the heights (the elegant, refined, pompous, exclusive and solemn) to the fun (the rogue, vital, street and creative). Snobbery's days are numbered, and cooking will be fun or it won't be (Another day we'll talk about foie gras. There's cloth )
Number thirteen, of course, is up to you. . That I'm not just going to get dirty with the cabal of the gastronomic crystal ball.
Olivia restaurant takes care of you