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The claim of women in gastronomy inaugurates the activities of the Mediterranean Gastronomy Center

05 March 2018 - 16: 44

Immersed fully in the week of feminist claim par excellence, Dénia has become the perfect forum on Monday to put on the table the situation of women in an area as complex and fashionable as gastronomy.

Gastronomy and Women has been the day that, held in the facilities of the CDT, has opened the activities of the International Center of Gastronomic Culture of the Mediterranean, which from September will host the Degree in Gastronomy of the University of Alicante.

Throughout the morning, testimonies of women dedicated to hospitality in their different facets have been heard, which have allowed creating a general map of the situation that women currently experience, where the reconciliation between work and family life, and the roof of glass have been shown as the main barriers to female promotion.

"It is essential to make visible what women have meant in the entire value chain of gastronomy"

The day was inaugurated by the regional secretary of the Valencian Agència del Turisme (AVT), Francesc Colomer, who has been very assertive in his speech. Colomer has advocated "work every day to ensure accessibility and dignify wages", and "emphasize what women have meant throughout the value chain of gastronomy". For the autonomic secretary, "You have to put it in value and improve the conditions so that the perspective changes".

The director of the CDT, Pepe Vidal and the mayor of Dénia, also participated in the inauguration, Vicent Grimalt. The latter has emphasized that this claim is intended "make women visible every day", and he recalled that this day is part of the program of events organized by the International Women's Day.

Gastronomy as a tourist resource

The day has continued with the conference Women, tradition and globalization. The cuisine of Baja California as a tourist resource, taught by the president of the Mexican Academy of Tourism Research, Nora L. Bringas Rabago.

Nora Bringas has stressed that "gastronomy is a fundamental part of a trip, it is an indisputable element to know the culture and the way of life of the population", and has highlighted that "the tourist when he eats, he also eats culture". Finally, he pointed out that Mexico ranks second in cultural diversity worldwide.

Reconciliation and the wage gap, two realities that distance women's equality

During the round table, moderated by Reme Cerdà, manager of Aehtma, the speakers agreed that one of the main obstacles that women find when promoting or gaining responsibility in a company is the reconciliation of family life with life labor.

The gathering started with the testimony of Sole Ballester, head of the hotel Rosa, which has placed special emphasis on the importance of maintaining traditions despite innovation.

Next, Ana Laguna has taken the floor, responsible for the Gastronomy project at the University of Alicante, which has reviewed the testimonies of some of today's most influential chefs. Laguna stressed that only 9'2% of the Michelin stars in our country correspond to women. As stated, "women cook with their hearts and men cook with their heads", and has indicated that there are few female references that exist in gastronomy.

Diana Cervera, head chef at La Seu restaurant, is the third generation of a gastronomic family. According to him, all his family has received "an education governed by equality", and has recognized that, despite everything, it is very difficult to combine the facets of cook, businesswoman and mother. Cervera has stressed the importance of educational actions in terms of gastronomy reach the school canteens, and has recognized that Dénia now has a unique opportunity to lead a project to fight for equality and recognition of women in gastronomy.

Cristina Rodriguez, founder of the project, also participated in the talk M from Alexandria, a plantation of more than one hectare of Muscatel grape that this year will bring its first bottles to the market. For Rodriguez, his product goes further, and states that each bottle of wine will sell landscape and culture of the region.

The round table has continued with the participation of MªÁngeles Piera, head of the restaurant room the Pegolí, which has differentiated women by their detail and organization in front of men.

The floor has been closed with Mariana Giner, vice president of the Associació de Restauradores de Xàbia (ARX), which has recognized that in an association "It is more difficult to reach a position because women have to reconcile family life".

"Without women, Dénia would not be a Creative City of Gastronomy"

With this affirmation so forceful, the councilor of agreements and collaborations of the Dénia project, Creative City of Gastronomy, Pepa Font, the day has ended. For Font, it is essential to remember that the food and product culture has not been brought by women, and that now "We must go one step further, because we are responsible for incorporating women in the gastronomy in a fairer way".

Pepa Font has stressed a word about the rest: conciliation, because without it, she said, "you can't go anywhere".

The director general of Tourism, Raquel Huete, has picked up the idea launched by the participants in the round table that this day should go further, and has said that "this starts here", and that Dénia "has the great advantage of having many women leading associations".

For Huete, "the wage gap is indisputable", so it has ended with a wish: "We don't settle".

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