The heat helps avoid overcrowding on the first day of the D * na 2018 Gastronomic Festival

A radiant sun became, unintentionally, one of the protagonists of the first day of the D * na Festival Gastronòmic de Dénia, the most important gastronomic event held in the city.

From the first hour, the clear sky gave way to intense heat, which is why many people waited for the arrival of afternoon to approach en masse the Marineta Cassiana promenade to enjoy the second edition of this important Dianense event with projection world.

The first day of the festival counted with the participation of 18 chefs in the two stages, the central one and the main one, which overflowed with culinary knowledge at all times.

And among all of them, Quique Dacosta, the ideologist and curator of the event, who did not go all the way from one end to the other during the whole day so as not to lose sight of everything that happened.

Your fetish products, the products of your childhood

This year, the leitmotiv D * na was the fetish product of those who participated, a challenge that discovered to the public that, for many of the participating chefs, the product chosen came from their childhood. It was, in short, the product that brought more memories and wanted to share with the large audience.

It was the case of Maria José Martínez, from the restaurant Canvas of Valencia, which chose corn. As she herself said, through this product she recalled the moments of her childhood when, in her grandparents' house, popcorn was prepared. A product that she, years later, has deconstructed until reinventing it.

Also Vicky Sevilla, from the restaurant ArrelsHe recognized that his product, the red mullet, was a reminder of what was eaten at home in his youth. Even Elena Arzak, the best cook in the world, said that the baby squid, the product chosen as the leitmotif of her presentation, transported her to the summers in which she had to work in the family restaurant.

And it is that the greatness of D * na resides precisely in that: in approaching the small details to the great public, in connecting with them regardless of michelin stars that are possessed or the price of the menu of their houses.

Important local names in both scenarios

The first day of the D * na festival gave special prominence to the chefs from Dénia and Marina Alta, who were present at the two stages. Bruno Ruiz, from Atticook and winner of the last International competition Creative Cuisine Red Gamba de Dénia, was the one who premiered the main stage to talk about the shrimp.

In the central scenario we could see Antonio Crespo and Ximo Pastor, of the Cdt; Jordi Nin, from Coquería of Jesús Pobre; Pep Romany, from the restaurant Pont Sec, that spoke of the ancient salting; and Bati Bordes, from The Marine, that next to Juan Antonio Sepulcre spoke of the shellfish of Dénia, its characteristics and how it is fished.

The program of the first day of the festival was completed with names like Oriol Castro, Enjoy (Barcelona); Pedro Morán, from Casa Gerardo (Asturias); or Pepe Solla, from Casa Solla (Poio, Pontevedra), who surprised by counting as an assistant with the Valencian Begoña Rodrigo, Salita, who participated last year.

Santiago Prieto, from Sents (Ontinyent), to talk about the vegetable; or Nanín Pérez, from the restaurant Murri, in Alicante, who spoke about moringa.

Through the central stage they also passed Ricardo Fuentes Salazones; Hector Molina, from El3ments (Vila-real); Thomas Codiglia Engum Madsen, representative of Bergen, Creative City of Gastronomy; Salva Castaño, from Elche; o Ciriaco Vicente Ausina, from the Chufa de València DO.

The Autonomous Secretary of Tourism and the Sub-Delegate of the Government support the inauguration

The opening of the D * na Gastronomic Festival was supported, once again, by Francesc Colomer, Regional Secretary of Tourism, who did not miss the appointment. Dénia was also the sub-delegate of the government, Araceli Poblador, as well as the Deputy of Citizens Tony Woodward.

Also attending the inauguration were Sonja Dietz, president of CEDMA; the director of Gasterra, Josep Bertomeu; the falleras majors of Dénia, Amparo Petrie and Neus Suárez; the sponsors of the event and numerous councilors of the municipal corporation.

Check here the program on Sunday, September 30.