24/7 VALENCIA: WHAT DOES QUART DE POBLET TASTE LIKE?

AMSTEL:These are the finalist sandwiches in the competition organised by Amstel to pay tribute to the town where it brews its beers.

Local products, more complex preparations together with traditional recipes, a lot of culinary mastery and originality in the tasting of the proposals of the finalist bars and restaurants in this competition that seeks to invigorate l’esmorazet, adding a new one to the list of its legendary sandwiches.

A jury headed by Ricard Camarena, double Michelin Star as well as National Gastronomy Award (2018) and Hotel and Catering Award (2020), tastes the proposals chosen by popular vote among the nearly 300 participants, through the more than 5,100 votes cast on the website somesmorzadors.com

The winner will be announced on 27 November at the Premis Cacau d’Or gala, where he or she will receive one of the prizes, €1,000 worth of products and €3,000 worth of visibility material. In addition, the Amstel action continues until 30 November and the public can still win free lunches and many prizes.

The flavour of a place is made up of its people, its landscape, its culture… and its gastronomy, of course. Amstel is trying to discover what Quart de Poblet tastes like in order to pay tribute to the Valencian town where, for almost 40 years, it has been brewing its beers.

That is why it has launched a challenge linked to one of the most genuinely Valencian moments, l’esmorzaret. A differential fact that Amstel has been promoting since 2015, collaborating with the virtual community La Cultura del Almuerzo to award the Premis Cacau d’Or, which recognises the establishments that keep this tradition alive in the Region.

On 27 November, one of these awards will go to the winner of the competition launched by the brewery to create the new ‘Quart de Poblet’ sandwich. An initiative in which around 300 bars and restaurants in the city and province of Valencia have signed up, each with their own recipe.

Since 30 September, the public has been able to taste them and vote for their favourites on the website somesmorzadors.com, which has collected more than 5,100 entries. Thus, a ranking has been configured that has placed as finalists the 11 locals, given the tie in the tenth position, which today have presented their proposals in the Foodie Garage.

Representatives from each of the establishments selected for the final were gathered there along with a luxury jury, headed by the National Gastronomy Award (2018) and the National Hospitality Award (2020), Ricard Camarena. He was accompanied in the task by Amstel’s master brewer, Rafa Sánchez; and Salvador Pla, World Pastry Chef 2018. The two worked together to create the Amstel Gold Bread, presented a few weeks ago, with which all the finalist recipes have been served.

Also represented on the jury was the La Cultura del Almuerzo community with one of its leading members, the journalist and gastronomic agitator Paco Alonso. He was accompanied by Cruz Martínez, nutritionist and coordinator of gastronomic training at the Clínica Universitària de Nutrició, Activitat Física i Fisioteràpia de la Fundació Lluís Alcanyís-Universitat de València.

RESTAURATEURS FROM TAVERNES DE LA VALLDIGNA, ONTINYENT, VALÈNCIA, RIBARROJA, SAN ANTONIO DE BENAGÉBER AND QUART DE POBLET DEFEND THEIR RECIPES IN A FINAL WITH THE FLAVOUR OF THINGS WELL DONE

Ca Saoret (Tavernes de la Valldigna) has presented a proposal that combines tradition and modernity, with cod in curry tempura and titaina del Cabanyal amb tonyina de sorra as the protagonists, accompanied by garlic peppers. Meanwhile, Miranda (Ontinyent) has opted for a lunchtime classic, plancha and pan a la catalana, with fresh pork loin, onion, bacon and Havarti cheese accompanied by Mery sauce.

The recipe of Nuevo Oslo (Valencia) has given a twist to the traditional figatell in hamburger format, with Amstel and plum sauce, accompanied by tender sprouts, fried onion and dried tomato. Also a hamburger, but this time a deer burger, is the highlight of Ca Àngel’s (Tavernes de la Valldigna) proposal, accompanied by Cheddar cheese, egg and piquillo peppers with barbecue sauce and ranch sauce.

Gastro Pelayo Trinquet has also cooked with Amstel, this time in its Gold variety, toasted. With it he has prepared a classic element of Valencian lunches, horse meat, accompanied by sobrasada and Catí goat’s cheese omelette, esclatasangs, tender garlic and ajoaceite de cacau del collaoret.

With the mastery that simple recipes sometimes require, Monta Kinto (Quart de Poblet) has opted for a fried fresh squid battered in garlic oil.

Meanwhile, Beluga (Valencia) has honoured the custom of combining bar preparations in the same sandwich, bringing together potatoes with egg, marinated pork loin and peppers with a special aioli sauce.

Chicken breast was the main ingredient in the proposals of Bona Cuina III (Ribarroja) and La Nueva Terraza (San Antonio de Benagéber). The former accompanied it with classic ingredients such as chips, Serrano ham, cured cheese and green pepper, while the latter marinated it in milk, spices, lemon, extra virgin olive oil and garlic and then served it with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes from the garden, gorgonzola cheese and bacon, topped with a Cheddar cheese sauce.

Another meat was the star dish at Virrey de Serrería (València), Iberian sirloin steak with goat’s cheese cream and caramelised onion, rocket, Valencian tomato and mayonnaise. Finally, El Racó de Xavi (València) has defied gravity with a base of oven-roasted peppers and chopped garlic under a triple-decker omelette (in the first, potato omelette; in the second, salad of lettuce, onion, tuna and olives with mayonnaise; in the third, French omelette).

The jury tasted the sandwiches and assessed basic aspects such as their originality and flavour. But also the use of local products and recipes, as well as the pairing of the recipe with Amstel beer, a faithful companion of the lunches consumed every day by thousands of Valencians. In addition, the presentation and service have also been judged. These are the ingredients of a difficult choice in which the jury highlighted the creativity of the caterers in creating imaginative combinations, even when working with classic foods and preparations.

NEXT DATE AT THE PREMIS CACAU D’OR AND MANY PRIZES STILL AVAILABLE FOR THE PUBLIC TO CHOOSE FROM…

The winner of this final will be announced on 27 November at the Premis Cacau D’Or gala, where he or she will receive the Premi Especial de Amstel. In addition, the winning venue will receive €1,000 worth of products and €3,000 worth of visibility material.

In the meantime, the finalist sandwiches will continue to be available to the public in the venues that have reached the last phase of the selection process. And until 30 November, in the 300 establishments registered in the competition, customers will be able to win various gifts by uploading their receipt or a photo of their order to the website somesmorzadors.com.

Amstel is raffling off free lunches and ‘Esmorzadors Kits’, a fun set of tableware designed to make this gastronomic experience even better. It includes the ‘Tancador’, a kind of belt to hold the most generous sandwiches and make it easier to eat. Also the ‘Entreplat’, an extendable plate, capable of adapting to the length of the diner’s appetite. And the ‘Cerveseta’, a glass with just the right measure to accompany a complete esmorzaret from start to finish (and with fresh Amstel ‘Made in Valencia’).

The aim of this action is to encourage people to go to their nearest bars and restaurants to enjoy this three-course ritual, with its pickles and tramussos as starters, its overflowing entrepà as the main element, accompanied by fresh beer, and its cremaet coffee as the closing. A unique tradition in Spain, which every day has more followers thanks to legendary recipes, such as the ‘Brascada’, ‘Chivito’ or ‘Ciclista’, to which now the ‘Quart de Poblet’ promoted by Amstel has been added.

#We Are Shorteners is part of the activities with which the brewery, which belongs to the HEINEKEN Spain group, reinforces its commitment to the hotel and catering sector and demonstrates its roots in the region.

The brewery is the only large brand brewery that produces its products in the region, generating some 300 direct jobs and 12,000 indirect jobs. An activity in which it takes care of its environment, using renewable energy sources and establishing a circular economy system to minimise waste.

It has also launched actions such as the ‘Cañaveral Project’, developed in collaboration with the Generalitat Valenciana, which allows 430 million litres of water a year to be returned to L’Albufera, contributing to the protection of one of the most unique natural parks in the Region and in Spain. These are just some of the examples of the brewery’s commitment to the Valencian economy, society, environment and culture which, in gastronomy, has one of its strongest points in l’esmorzaret. A deep-rooted commitment to the taste of things well done.

Report by ’24/7 Valencia’ team