Pay attention to this name: Javier Fuentes del Río. Today we are very happy to bring him to our blog as a protagonist for two reasons.
The first, because he is the chef of Ibéricos Torreón. And the second, because he is one of the chefs qualified for the semifinal of the IV International Cooking Contest with Iberico, which will be held on July 4, 2022 at the Casa de la Tierra Gastronomic Innovation Center.
Javier Fuentes del Río, for those of you who haven't heard of him, is a chef with a great vocation and knows well the butterflies that you feel in your stomach when you participate in a contest. Despite his youth, 22 years old, he has participated in numerous competitions, always raising the flag high and demonstrating great skill in front of the stove, due to the originality, elegance and quality of his preparations.
He trained in Salamanca, in such an emblematic place as the Fonda Veracruz Hospitality School, and obtained the higher rank of Head Chef at the CIPF Rodríguez Fabrés. In addition, he has passed through highly reputable restaurants such as Coque in Madrid, Iván Cerdeño in Toledo and Atrio in Cáceres.
Internationally renowned teachers such as Dabiz Muñoz, Oriol Castro, Martín Berasategui or Diego Guerrero are a reference for Javier, of course! However, he already has his preferences very clear, the kitchen with which he feels most creative. He likes to "update the kitchen of a lifetime, the stews, the sauces" ... and that is why he strives to update and refine the classic recipes. He himself defines his work as "fine, elegant and highly elaborate cuisine" .
In fact, we are not going to reveal the dish that he will prepare in the Iberian Cooking Contest, but we can say that it will be in that vein, an elaboration with classic airs recovering Iberian pieces that are currently less valued, but that he intends to relaunch. We can't wait to know all the details and, even better, try the final result!
As for his relationship with Ibéricos Torreón, we take the opportunity to tell you that he is our head chef and that he is responsible for the new gastronomic project that we have just launched. We'll tell you more very soon... we'll leave it for another post 😉.
Now it is time to wish Javier Fuentes good, very good luck in the International Cooking Contest with Ibérico, where he will compete with other wonderful chefs from Salamanca such as Gonzalo Elena Melgar, from the Rivas Restaurant; José Manuel Pascual González, from the Bambú Restaurant; Sara Cámara Fernández, from Casa Pacheco and Laura Ramos Sánchez, from Aire Tapas 3.0. Also on the list of semifinalists are Alberto Montes Pereira, from Atrio Restaurant; Álvaro Abad García, from El Plantío; Daniel López Vázquez, from the O Camiño do Inglés Restaurant; Ignacio Caro Gómez, from Auroch Restaurant and José Moreschi, from Venta de Posa.
The four chefs who will participate in the grand final, scheduled for the second day of the IV International Iberian Forum 2023, will come out of this semifinal.
Hopefully we will see our chef in that final phase! Although if not, it doesn't matter either, we will continue to enjoy his talent and good work with Torreón Iberian meats.
