Sometimes you need time to relax when returning from an inspiring event. As if the new ideas and information need to settle before you can start working on it. That was absolutely the case when I returned from my visit to Madrid Fusión in the Spanish capital.

Madrid Fusión is the culinary fair of the world, which I visited for the first time a few weeks ago. The greatest chefs from all around the world were present to see and learn which direction our profession goes: René Redzepi of Noma in Kopenhagen, THE number one of the world. But also Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck in London, Thomas Keller of The French Laundry in California as well as Ferran Adrià of El Bulli close to Barcelona, were present as well. The last one can be considered the co-organizer of the event, for approximately 8 years now.

The set up of the event is equally simple and effective; during 3 days various chefs present themselves in a large conference room to 500 other chefs. So, you actually choose your favorite performer and watch their presentation carefully. Previously live cooking took place on the stage but this time the chefs presented their own video-presentation to communicate their message as effective as possible.

And yes, I was allowed to enter the stage myself as well. Together with my colleagues Wout Bru of Chez Bru in the Provence-district, honored with two Michelin stars, and Yves Mattagne of the famous Sea Grill in Brussels, in possession of two stars as well. We showed and demonstrated a few products of Unilever, especially created for the top segment in the F&B industry. That may sound as a surprise to you, but for thousands of restaurants just below the top segment, the products created by Unilevers’ professionals in conjunction with starred chefs are definitely beneficial.

I have just been active in this creative team, but Yves and Wout have been working for the multinational for eight years. Due to the fact that the three of us were invited during such an important culinary event, we may conclude that this set-up is appreciated by the world of gastronomy. I showed the audience what kind of fantastic things you can do with professional broths. Bru and Mattagne demonstrated the way you can use dressings as well as lobster sauce.

But of course we also had dinner in Madrid, because it simply remains a culinary Mecca. Our visit to Sergi Arola who cooks very characteristic, was very inspiring. He is less concerned with presentation than we, but he focuses on the sensation of flavors. It seems like a trend: the further you travel to the south of Europe, the 'easier' the plate is being prepared. Maybe we split some ingredients too much, just to show that we had some kind of thought behind the dish. Arola just puts all ingredients together and he makes it taste heavenly.

Also great was El Poblet, the tapas bar of Quique Dacosta. Well, tapas ... You get all kinds of little bites, that's true, but the level is so high and rare and the chef uses techniques that are so innovative, that the concept of tapas is no longer applicable. What impressed me the most was a light mousse of mashed potatoes from the kidde, with a coarser structure of potatoes at the bottom, so it still has a bite. On top of the mousse was a shade of delicately cut squid, sprinkled with a little olive oil. Finished with some herbs which are used for the preparation of Spanish chorizo sausage. Such a simple dish but so tasty!

Back to the event in Madrid: it is bizarre that only a few weeks ago I have been hanging out with Santi Santamaria i Puig, the first Spanish chef with three Michelin stars. It was very special that he was there in Madrid Fusión, because he always was a strong opponent of the innovative cooking style of organizer Ferran Adrià. Anyway, during a dinner in Santa Maria's Restaurant Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which is run by his daughter, the big chef dies. Only 53 years old?! That shows that we should enjoy every day of this fantastic job. And that we will do our utmost - as long as it’s possible- to spoil our guests. That's exactly what we will do with the new menu of Ciel Bleu, which will be introduced later this month. But more about that next week ...

Enjoy! Onno Kokmeijer and team