Best 2014 Excelencias Gourmet Hors d’oeuvre

The competition to handpick the Best 2014 Excelencias Gourmet Hors d’oeuvre gave a special touch to the Seminar. Three randomly chosen chefs – from restaurants Gourmet Cubano, Bavaria and Esto no es un café – were asked to prepare a cold starter and pair it with unlabeled wine bottles. They were counting on such ingredients as shrimps, chicken, sweet potato, pepper, cumin, guava and chocolate.

After five minutes of pure nerve, encouraged by enthusiast International Chef Claudio Ferrer, from the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS), the contestants prepared three dishes characterized by a daring mix of tastes and colors, essences and aromas.

The jury, made up of Spanish Chef Raúl Vaquerizo, a professor and international gastronomic consultant, and Chef Eddy Fernández, president of Cuba’s Federation of Culinary Associations, is going to select the hors d’oeuvre that makes the most complete pairing with wine, keeping in mind such characteristics as volume, perspective, taste and presentation.

The results will be announced during the closing ceremony, on July 18.