13-08-2022
The second edition of Féminas, the International Congress of Gastronomy, Women and Rural Milieu organised by Vocento Gastronomía and promoted – by the Principality of Asturias - “to showcase and support women connected with the world of cuisine, the rural milieu and actively working to promote sustainable practices”. Identità Golose took part: here is our report
Féminas is the Congress of Gastronomy, Women and Rural Milieu organised by Vocento Gastronomía and promoted – by the Principality of Asturias - “to showcase and support women connected with the world of cuisine, the rural milieu and actively working to promote sustainable practices”. The second edition took place in mid-May in Cangas del Narcea, in the south-west of Asturias, inside the fascinating Parador de Corias, an ancient monastery perched among forests and mountains. The three days of meetings, cooking demos, debates, and talks had prominent chefs like Manu Buffara, Fatmata Binta, Cristina Bowerman, Najat Kaanache, Elena Arzak talk... All Feminas.
First question: is it really necessary to organise an event dedicated to the role of women in gastronomy? Aren’t the barriers broken? I had well in mind the words of Massimo Bottura who, during the latest Identità Milano congress at the end of April, with his usual extrovert and fun attitude during an unplanned moment while Cristina Ziliani of Cantine Berlucchi was giving Jessica Rosval the Premio Identità Donna exclaimed: «Enough with this story! We don’t care if it’s a man or a woman. What’s important is that they are talented». Cheers from the audience.
But back to Féminas. Actually, no. There’s another image first. During the event in the Asturias, they announced the World's Best Female Chef according to the 50Best, Colombian Leo Espinosa. So once again: do we need to give similar awards? Of course, we only have three women in the 50 Best, to which we must add 4 more if we widen the horizon to the 100 Best. But the same happens in the Oscars: though nobody will ever think to create an award for the best Female Director...
Carme Ruscalleda and her son Raül Balam on the stage of Féminas. The two presented their new restaurant, Cuina Sant Pau, in the location that used to hold the glory of three-starred Sant Pau, closed in 2018. Cuina (kitchen) because «it’s the only space of the restaurant that remained exactly the same - Raül exclaimed. - Same philosophy as Sant Pau, but a completely different concept: an informal and laidback meal, imagined for clients who want to share a nice dish»
Of course, something is changing for the better. Even Ruscalleda admitted it: «When I was born, as women we had to put on a metaphorical backpack». Inside, there were «the obligation to look after your house, your husband, your children. And to cook for the family. Today luckily we live a moment in which we are often at work in professional kitchens while men are cooking at home». Carme pointed out the importance of a congress like Féminas «to discuss, showcase, reflect» and, with her son Raül, she talked about their brigade, where people are selected not based on the gender, but on their will to work: «In my home – Raül pointed out – I was not taught that there are differences between man and woman. We’ve always talked of people».
Fatmata Binta and below her dish
Manu Buffara and below her dish
Najat Kanaache and below her dish
Cristina Bowerman and below her dish
Cristina Bowerman, the only woman in Rome with a Michelin star with her Glass Hostaria agrees. She talked on the third and last day of the congress. «There are many female chefs, but there are still too few who receive attention and visibility, too few whose merits are acknowledged, through awards they would deserve». So it’s good to organise an event dedicated to them. Because in the end, this is the goal: not to cook succulent dishes – and indeed Cristina during her lesson was hard at work, preparing a new vegetarian take on a typical dish of Latium, called vignarola – but to awaken curiosity, raise the attention on a specific theme, provoke, analyse techniques, themes, topics, and issues in depth.
«As chefs we don’t save lives, we don’t perform open-heart surgery - Bowerman said later – But we can have an important impact in creating a change, helping the communities in which we work to grow, evolve, change». How so? By reawakening the consciences on important themes. For instance, on environmental sustainability, a commitment that last year granted Bowerman the so called "green star", as well as an invitation to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
Reviews, recommendations and trends from the four corners of the planet, signed by all the authors of Identità Golose
by
born in 1979 in Milan, her mother is from Alto Adige and her father is a Croatian grown up in Trieste: she’s the daughter of Italian irredentism and is strongly attracted by the southern hemisphere. She has written (for Diario and Agrisole among others), translated (includingPellegrino Artusi’sLa scienza in Cucina ), eaten and tasted – without ever stopping taking pictures – in Argentina, Chile and Guatemala for over 5 years. Since she had to move to Italy, she went as south as she could. Since 2016 she lives in Sicily, and collaborates with Wine in Sicily and Identità Golose
Leonor Espinosa and Fatmata Binta, both special guest speakers in the Auditorium at Identità Milano 2023: the Colombian chef will give a talk with her daughter Laura Hernandez on Sunday 29th January at 3.40 p.m.; the Sierra Leonean chef on Saturday 28th at 4.20 p.m.
Chef Fatmata Binta