Madrid Fusion - Day 1 Wrap Up

Hello everyone from Madrid Fusion, one of the world's largest chef and gastronomy conferences. Well day one was fascinating, if the other two days are as exciting we are in for a treat.

The day kicked off with one of the most exciting announcements in Spanish gastronomy in the last few years. After a 10 year hiatus – uber-chef Ferran Adria told us that the first round of applications for his new research centre El Bulli 1846 has opened. He is looking for his first members creative staff to join his team – perhaps the most sought-after job in food at the moment. In addition he has three more projects in the pipeline so keep your eye on the trendhub for more info coming soon.

How do we follow that – well we were treated to a fascinating discussion on modern Moroccan food by chef Najat Kaanache from Nur Restaurant in Fez; Jesus Segura took us through his thoughts on "Healthy Haute Cuisine", and Kristian Baumann head chef from 108 Restaurant in Copenhagen (who trained at Noma and Relae) gave us an insight into his "menu without rules" by presenting a whole sturgeon in multiple guises

If that is not enough, Ricard Camarena gave us a fascinating discussion of managing hydration though out his cooking and served up an amazing tuna and tomato preparation. Eneko Atxa and Xabi Uribe from the acclaimed Restaurant Azurmendi took us on a virtual tour of their suppliers and famers through an online portal. Finally, Quique Dacosta, one of the most creative chefs in Spain, presented a thought provoking talk on "the flavour of elegance". He made some amazing doilies made with white asparagus, a twist on soba noodles using cuttlefish and a dish using a whole grey mullet in four different preparations.

More to come from Day 2 tomorrow. Find out more about the show on the website here.