NEWS

THE GREAT SWEET HARVEST OF THE PAMPAS

99% of Argentine honey exports are made in bulk and without added value.

Although not many Argentines know it, the land of dulce de leche could also be considered honey. The more than 81,000 tons exported by the South American country in 2016 place it, in the most recent statistics of the UN, as the second world supplier behind China. It is a harvest that is industrialized outside the country. National consumption is only 5% of production and the vast majority of beekeepers - independently or through cooperatives - sells honey to a handful of exporters who market it, especially in the United States, Germany and Japan.

In the sector they complain that many of the companies that split and package honey in importing countries mix the pure product with other "strikingly" cheaper. It is a strategy to lower costs that, about 10 years ago, say the exporters, changed the business 

Joël Robuchon dies, the Michelin-starred chef in history

The French chef, member of the Legion of Honor and passionate about Japanese and Spanish cuisines, has died in Geneva at 73.

With the death of chef Joël Robuchon this Monday at age 73, French gastronomy has suffered its second major blow in just a few months, after the death in January of the creator of the nouvelle cuisine Paul Bocuse. Barely recovered from the loss of the chef of chefs, France now cries to its century cook, the man who revolutionized the French haute cuisine and who achieved an absolute record of Michelin stars, 32, throughout his long career. A duel to which many chefs from all over the world have joined and, especially, from Spain, a country in which Robuchon found constant inspiration. The world gastronomy is again in mourning.

"He was a highly disciplined man, rigorous and rigid at work, that's why he had the aura of perfectionism, of dishes that were absolutely accurate and perfect," recalled chef Pedro Subijana in a telephone conversation with EL PAÍS. For the chef from San Sebastian, who had known him for decades, he was like a demanding teacher, the one who "after time is the one who loves the most, because he has made you better".

Despite his illness, a pancreatic cancer that he had been facing for a year with great discretion until ending the battle on Monday at his home in Geneva, Switzerland, Robuchon remained active until almost until the end. For one of his last projects he had called the Spanish Carme Ruscalleda, with whom he planned an ephemeral restaurant during the summer at the Montecarlo hotel in the same city, where he had a restaurant in his name. The Catalan, the woman with more Michelin stars in the world, hailed the "international and immortal legacy" of a "great teacher and international artist" in their social networks.

Spain was a constant reference of Robuchon, a chef obsessed with fresh products. He chose Alicante as a destination when he decided to retire at age 50. Although, as Subijana recalled, the rest lasted very little: "After four days what he did was multiply by a thousand, because that takes you inside and it is very difficult to renounce it". They were two of his favorite Alicante establishments, the Nou Manolín and the Piripi, where he ate fresh fish at the bar, those that inspired him for one of his greatest successes, the concept of restaurants that he named L'Atelier and that are based on the format of the Spanish tapas and in the Japanese sushi bars, with the kitchen open to the view of the client.

 The chef Joël Robuchon, between the chefs Ferrán Adrià (left) and Dani Garcia (right) in a tribute that was made to the French chef in April 2016 in Marbella, Málaga. Enlarge photo

The chef Joël Robuchon, between the chefs Ferrán Adrià (left) and Dani Garcia (right) in a tribute that was made to the French chef in April 2016 in Marbella, Málaga. GTRESONLINE

"When they asked me about a good restaurant, I realized that I knew places where people ate very well, but lacked a soul. And others with very good atmosphere, but terrible dishes. The only places where both were harmonized were sushi places in Japan and tapas in Spain, "Robuchon told this newspaper in 2015:" I copied the idea and put the kitchen in front so that the client could see how the dishes were made " Robuchon was "a very good ambassador of Spain abroad because he has always aired for the world that had been inspired by the Spanish bars", valued Subijana.

Born on April 7, 1945 in Poitiers, in a modest and deeply Catholic family, his first vocation was the Church. At age 12, he entered the seminary with the idea of ​​becoming a priest. The black would end up being one of his hallmarks-one of his revolutions was changing the white uniform of the chefs for a black one-but not the cassock, as his family had planned. Helping the nuns prepare the meals of the seminarians, she realized her true passion.