The Cantabrians Borja Mier and Monica Calderon, in front of the restaurant The Meadow (Nightingale, Comillas), have been proclaimed winners of the Fish Soup Championship at the San Sebastián Gastronomika congress with a proposal that the jury considered the best fish soup of the edition.
The award came after a blind tasting with double valuation, professional (80%) and popular (20%), in an event sponsored by the Xunta de Galicia which brought together chefs, critics and specialized audiences at the Kursaal in San Sebastián.
La Pradera takes the title
The Mier y Calderón project, a recently opened restaurant in the neighborhood of Nightingale (Comillas), conquered both the professional and popular juries thanks to a daring recipe that claims product, technique and territory without losing sight of the traditional flavor.
In a contest with eight finalists and very different formats, his version won for balance and complexity, in a session in which the soups were served for anonymous evaluation and, according to the organization, paired with Albariño wine.
A recipe with three broths and Cantabrian touches
The base of the plate is articulated three broths: a powerful fumet of conger eel and hake bones; a American crab bound with a little rice to provide shine and body; and a third base in the style seafood with mussels, spicy butter and a touch of parsley.
The funds are enriched with basic vegetables - leek, onion, carrot and a touch of celery and cilantro— and they perfume themselves with brandy from Picos de Cabariezo, And a Cantabrian wine fermented in barrels which reinforces the nuances of the sea and the local identity.
The montage contains contemporary touches that do not overshadow the whole: hedgehog foam ass and shepherd's crumbs with Iberian bacon which crown the hake, providing texture and a well-measured tasty contrast.
The proposal is completed, as detailed by the team, with haute cuisine resources: a prawn and sea urchin tartar that adds iodine and freshness, a romesco of beet for sweet balance and a little green sauce sphere with seaweed that encloses the Cantabrian landscape.
As a final gesture, Mier and Calderón incorporated sea fennel harvested from the cliffs of Toñanes, a vegetal detail that provides aroma and underlines the link between the dish and the environment.
A top-level jury and blind tasting
The professional panel consisted of Vanessa Dosil Lago (Junta de Galicia), Aitor Arregi (Elkano, Getaria), Igor Arregi (Kaia-Kaipe, Getaria), Hilario Arbelaitz (Zuberoa) and Roser Torras (former director of Gastronomika), with the journalist Alexandra Sumasi also in the deliberations.
During the session, it was stressed that in this elaboration it should be fish prevail so as not to become a seafood soup, and its status as a recipe was defended cross that defines territory and season through discards and available product.
There was also room for culinary reflection: Arbelaitz claimed the legacy of soups that we learned at home, with the idea of modernizing without losing the memory of taste; a vision that the Arregi shared and that places this soup in the high kitchen without renouncing its popular roots.
The finalists and the contest format
They opted for victory, in addition to the winner Borja Mier (La Pradera, Ruiseñada-Comillas), the following chefs: Mikel Mayán (Aldanondo Grill, Donostia), Carles Abellán (Bar Vint i Quatre, Barcelona), Enrique Murillo (Las Palmeras, Malaga), Fran Golden (Zapirain, Bilbao), Ruslan Businschi (Mayor, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France), Alejandro Lista (Furancho Brasa Clandestina, A Coruña) and David Pérez (Ronquillo, Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria).
The format required elaboration between 60 and 80 servings 80-100 grams for both judges and also present a portion as it is served in each house, with its own tableware. All in blind tasting to ensure impartiality.
The championship, held within San Sebastian Gastronomika and sponsored by the Xunta, seeks to highlight traditional soups and seafood preparations, demonstrating that a root recipe can admit contemporary readings without losing authenticity.
The triumph of La Pradera consolidates this Cantabrian couple as a reference in an iconic dish: a best fish soup which combines technique, territory and product with measured boldness, and which reflects the creative vigor of the cuisine linked to the Cantabrian Sea.
