Two days after the end of "festival of festivals"As you have qualified Quique Dacosta al At the festival Gastronomic Dénia, it was time to take stock. A balance without figures, because at the moment it has been difficult to count the number of tapas, drinks and people that during the weekend congregated in the Marineta Cassiana, although in a first estimate it is spoken of more than 20.000 people.
And the first impressions left by this macro event can not be more satisfying. Quique Dacosta, ideologist and gastronomic commissioner of this proposal, has stated that "It has created a code, a language, a way of understanding each other". The chef, whose restaurant in Dénia has three Michelin stars, has described the festival as a "success in general", which can be measured by the influx of people, the number of recognized cooks who have participated, and especially in the happiness that has generated, "where you have to put a little more emphasis".
Dacosta considers that "the town has endorsed the festival", an appointment he has filled "pride and general happiness" to those who have been part of it. The cook considers this festival "He is called to flow and to join many people to him" in the coming editions, whose frequency, stipulated at first every two years, is in the air with the possibility of becoming an annual event.
This first edition has served the organization to see the improvements that can be made in the next editions, although there is something that will not change: the setting. For Quique Dacosta, the Marineta Cassiana promenade is the ideal place to celebrate, a place that connects with the Mediterranean and the Natural Park Montgó, with the history of Dénia and its castle as idyllic background.
The gastronomic commissioner of the event has highlighted the involvement and satisfaction of chefs who have come from all over the world to participate in this first edition, which has given them the opportunity to approach an audience that normally does not frequent haute cuisine restaurants.
What we are capable of doing
During the balance before the media, the mayor of the city, Vicent Grimalt; the Councilor of Creative Cities, Pepa Font; the deputy mayor, Rafa Carrió; and the president of Aehtma, Cristina Sellés, have been proud of what Denia has shown the world this weekend.
The capital of the region has also been the capital of the world gastronomy for two days, and this event has served as "staging of what we are capable of doing", in Grimalt's words.
The Creative Cities of UNESCO, a fundamental part
A clear demonstration of what this festival has meant worldwide has been the involvement of 16 Creative Cities of Gastronomy, who accepted the invitation of Dénia and marked the beginning of the path to be followed as members of the UNESCO network.
Pepa Font emphasized that this fact has contributed to the positioning of Dénia as a world gastronomic leader, with a media repercussion that has allowed the delegations of the Creative Cities to take a vision of the city first hand.
Likewise, the councilor highlighted the commitment of citizens and business with this event, a union "rarely seen".
Moment of reflection
During the coming weeks, the organization will hold meetings with the participants in the D * NA Gastronomic Festival of Dénia with the purpose of knowing the needs and the improvements that can be carried out in the next years.
The first objective is already accomplished: the world already knows what we are capable of. Now it is time to "take care of it and pamper it", as Dacosta has stated, so that D * NA becomes a gastronomic event of world reference.
