Andorra la Vella, Monday 25th March 2024. The Snow Club Gourmet event that was held this weekend became the day with the greatest number of award-winning restaurants taking part in the history of this gastronomic project for Grandvalira. The fusion of styles of food from the seven restaurants with Michelin stars, two Green Stars and eight Soles in the Repsol Guide (their ‘Sun’ awards) that came to the L'Abarset kitchens made it to the tables of Andorra’s flagship venue. These were in the form of delicate and tasty dishes including the cream of stewed hazelnuts, egg yolk and fowl consommé from Mr. Xune Andrade (Monte restaurant* in Asturias, *Green Star and one Sol); cold onion tuna from Ms. Vicky Sevilla (Raíces restaurant* in Valencia, one Sol, New talent of the Year 2023); Andorran trout by Mr. Jordi Grau (Ibaya restaurant* in Andorra); hake with teardrop peas and crispy seaweed from Mr. Iñaki Aldrey (Atempo restaurant* in Barcelona); lobster, crispy papada (belly) and truffle from Mr. Juan Antonio Campoy (L'Abarset restaurant in Andorra); and aspergillus oryzae, pheasant and beetroot from Mr. Juan Sahuquillo (Oba restaurant* in Albacete, Green Star and two Soles - Cebo restaurant* in Madrid with one Sol). A 100% chocolate dessert from Mr. Aleix Bravo (Alkimia restaurant* in Barcelona with three Soles) brought the lunch to a close. Before making their way into the hall inside the L'Abarset venue, the 50 diners tried a selection of Poget oysters, jewels of the Atlantic Sea, as well as tasting the best ham croquette in the world 2021 (Cañitas Maite restaurant), and Chatka Russian King Crab of the highest quality. To accompany it, the exquisite food was paired with Dom Perignon, Ossian, Flor de Pingus and Veuve Clicquot.
The latest edition of the Snow Club Gourmet season wanted to place the focus on the candidacy for the Alpine World Ski Championships Andorra 2029. The selection of the acclaimed restaurants was not done at random. “They are not the most well-known chefs in the media, nor do they have the longest track records. They are new generations of creative chefs who are emerging in the Spanish and Andorran gastronomic scenes. They have strong values with regard to sustainable cuisine and have the energy to innovate and to leave a culinary legacy, which comes from their passion for the profession”. In fact, “many of these values are in line with those defended by the Pyrenean country in the bid for the Alpine World Ski Championships,” the head of the Snow Club Gourmet project Àlex Orúe said. He stated that the conceptualisation of the event was mindful of restaurants with uniqueness being chosen that are starting to leave a mark in today's gastronomic scene.
The fit between the two projects (Snow Club Gourmet and Andorra 2029) provided a day to live long in the memory, which was also aimed at promoting the largest sporting event in the history of the Pyrenees.
The bid for the Alpine World Ski Championships Andorra 2029 is a project that incorporates innovation as a raison d’être, sustainability and legacy as central pillars, and that raises enthusiasm in something that is new and in the robustness of a trajectory. In just over two months’ time, the vote to decide the organising location for the World Championships will take place in Reykjavík, Iceland. Andorra will take on top names in world skiing, in two of the world's most important locations that are Norway (Narvik) and Italy (Val Gardena).
4 days, 11 chefs
The sixth edition of the Snow Club Gourmet delivered some unforgettable days with chefs from the country and from Spain, who brought haute cuisine and the latest culinary trends to the Grandvalira ski station. A total of 11 leading chefs worked on the stoves of the most acclaimed restaurants in Soldeu El Tarter, namely Jean Leon and L'Abarset, delighting the diners who enjoyed the exclusive experience of tasting their creations. The first edition of the season was centred around the Alba truffle and Italian cuisine from Tartuflangue and chef Mr. Gabriele Milani (Algrano and Hotel Monument 5*L). The second took us to flavours of the sea with the XXL seafood from Alberto Domínguez from the D'Berto restaurant (in Galicia) and beef of the highest quality from José Gordón from El Capricho restaurant (in Leon). The best fabada (bean stew) in the world made its way to the Grandvalira slopes thanks to Mr. Marcos Moran from the Casa Gerardo* restaurant (in Asturias). This weekend saw the closing of the season of the ski area’s most gastronomic project with seven restaurants that have been awarded Michelin stars taking part.
