Honesty and balance, the DNA of Lanzarote

Built at the end of the 19th century, the Salinas del Janubio are located in a bay that was turned into a lagoon by volcanic eruptions, which created the providential barrier of lava that allows the production of a salt with an exquisite taste. This emblematic place in Lanzarote is the ideal setting for the second day of presentations at Worldcanic 2023, which was inaugurated today by two extremely talented local chefs.

Germán Blanco, who was born in León but has lived in the Canary Islands for many years, is the head chef at one of the island's most prestigious restaurants, Brisa Marina, where he and Juan el Majorero are defending local produce while at the same time spoiling tourists. "In Lanzarote we basically live from tourism, but it is important to find a balance between what the visitor wants and what you want to offer them, and to teach them to choose you," he admits.

Germán has brought a "simple but elegant" proposal to the congress kitchen, using local ingredients such as a Soo leek, roasted in the oven and cut in the shape of macaroni, served in a mountain on a bed of mojo palmero, which he has prepared with dried palm pepper, hydrated and crushed with garlic, seed oil, cumin and a touch of vinegar. In addition to the Janubio salt, he has added another local element, smoked wahoo, "to give it a greasy touch", contrasting with the drops of balsamic caramel, the pumpkin sprouts and the chive tips that crown the aesthetic dish.

The pride and responsibility of a prophet in his own land

A tinajero by trade, Paco Morales is a convinced ambassador of the goodness of his island, to which he returned a few years ago after studying at the Basque Culinary Centre and working in kitchens such as Tickets*, Aqua**, Miramar** and elBarri. Today, he is happy as head chef at the Alarz restaurant in the Gran Hotel & Spa in Arrecife, "an urban beach bar where we are committed to honest cuisine based on the best local produce. We want the product to be recognised, to give it value, but it is very important to be sincere when offering it. Lanzarote is very small and there isn't always enough produce for everyone, so you can't lie if what you serve that day isn't a tomato from Tinajo or a prawn from La Santa," he said.

And this morning, he paid sincere tribute to this delicious local crustacean, making it shine in a simple and tasty dish that combines two traditional preparations in one, with garlic and salt. After lightly marking the grilled prawns, he added a garlic vinaigrette made with garlic oil, orange juice and apple vinegar, topped with salt and thin slices of garlic. It is a pride and a responsibility to fight for my product and for my island, and I am grateful for initiatives like Worldcanic's because they help give visibility to what we do here," he concluded.