How an Andalusian chef discovered that La Mancha is a volcanic land

With the naturalness that characterises this young chef from Seville, who trained in the kitchens of Mugaritz, Martín Berasategui, Can Jubany, La Cabra and Gaytán, Miguel Ángel recognised from the first minute that "when I was invited, I didn't know that La Mancha had a volcanic area. The good thing about these events is that you discover new things that open your mind and I'm already thinking of a multitude of dishes, new techniques and presentations based on them". Since 2019, he has been running the restaurant at the five-star Hotel La Caminera, a haven of peace and tranquillity in the heart of a hunting reserve that even has its own airstrip. "Let's see what other hotel in Spain allows the hunter to eat the product of the farm where he hunts, cooked with a Michelin star," he says proudly.

A champion of local and regional products, his proposal is based on the traditional recipes of La Mancha, which he revives with passion and modernity. As the chef explained to the congress participants, he now knows that the volcanic soil of Ciudad Real, although ancient and extinct, offers numerous advantages for his crops, such as the uniqueness of the wines and oils that have recently been awarded the Campo de Calatrava Denomination of Origin. "There are a total of 16 municipalities spread over an area of around 5,000m2, populated by around 240 volcanic buildings, surrounded by lagoons and with extreme temperatures, which conditions its fauna and flora. It is the home of the Iberian lynx, the wild boar, the golden eagle, the black stork, the black vulture, the red-legged partridge, the duck and plants such as the black garlic, the large gladiolus, the mauve geranium and the yellow saffron.

Two volcanic dishes, the result of a "creative spark"

In this way, Miguel Ángel has discovered all there is to tell about a region that fascinates him. And to prove it, he has created two dishes adapted to this new discovery. The first is Andalusian-style black tempura aubergine stuffed with ratatouille from La Mancha, garnished with fennel sprouts and served in a wooden ladle that he has placed on a torch-heated plate to force the steam of a volcano by moistening it with water. The second is a colourful dessert of chocolate ganache in the shape of a green olive on a base of ground chocolate to simulate volcanic soil, decorated with olive branches and accompanied by a bread toast, "inspired by the bread and chocolate snack given to children during the olive harvest".