NAVARRA GOURMET

Spanish documentary showing the ins and outs of the "Bocuse d'Or" – the prestigious gastronomic competition held every two years in Lyon, France. The winners of the competition, organized by the famous chef of the same surname, aspire to the celebrity status and Michelin stars that follow in the wake of the award. To win it, a series of rated norms have to be followed. Firstly, using the three ingredients alluded to in the title of the film: the (Norwegian) Greenland halibut, the French Bresse chicken (the animal making up the three colours of the French flag) and the Norwegian deep sea red crab (obviously, it is the Scandinavians who finance the event); secondly, cooking two dishes using these ingredients together with their corresponding garnishing; and lastly, preparing it all in no more than five hours. It is not enough simply to make an exquisite dish, but rather to attain culinary perfection both in terms of flavours and in presentation.

The documentary accompanies the chef, Jesús Almagro (Madrid, 1973) in his attempt to win the 2008 award. Almagro is considered to be one of the best cooks in Spain, having worked in restaurants of such renown as Zalacaín, Arzak, Berasategui and the Guggenheim. After being proclaimed champion of Madrid and subsequently of Spain (2007), he thought of entering the World Championship – the "Bocuse d'Or" – without imagining how tough the challenge would be – a challenge that at the end of the day would become an obsession. The most powerful representatives from the world of gastronomy would be alongside him - rival teams from France, Japan, Switzerland and Norway. And then there is the final decision taken by the harsh judges “who, more than taste the food, dissect it.”

The documentary bears cinematographic witness to the tough training Almagro underwent, the way in which prepared himself as if he were an Olympic athlete – four months of tough and intense work in pursuit of victory, frenetic comings and goings, and studying and preparing the dishes chosen over and over again. Interventions by other cooks are also interspersed in all this – the circus into which the exhibition transforms itself, the shouting of the fans who cheer on the contestants from their country waving flags and chanting football songs, the media repercussion from which is in itself a marketing event.

With a small budget of one hundred thousand euros, ‘El pollo, el pez y el cangrejo real’ was shot over six months in France, Norway and Spain. Thirty hours were filmed in digital format (in such a confined and uncomfortable space as the kitchens), cut in the editing process to a little over an hour and a half.

The film has been screened with great success at the Berlin and Montreal festivals, which makes it the first Spanish production to be entered in the official section of two category A festivals. It has also taken part in the "Food Show” in Bologna and received the Goya and José María Forqué awards for the best feature-length documentary.

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May 2009

Monday 18^th May

Mediterranean diet

Tuesday 19^th May

Stomach

Wednesday 20^th May

The chicken, the fish and the deep sea red crab

Participants in the 6th Film and Gastronomy Festival will receive complimentary samples of Navarre Designation of Origin products after each session:

• Wednesday 20th May, Ecological products.