Helena Garcia Melero: “My grandmother Rosa used to make me croquette and hake sandwiches, and I always thought I was the odd one out.”

BarcelonaJournalist Helena Garcia Melero recalled the sandwiches her grandmother Rosa, born in Teruel, used to make for her when she was in school. She would prepare them with leftovers from the previous night's dinner, so she would "make croquette sandwiches and hake sandwiches with olives." "I always thought I was the odd one out, because the rest of my classmates brought sandwiches made with sliced bread," she explained. However, everything changed one day when her best friend, Meri, asked if her grandmother could make one for her too. From then on, Garcia Melero brought two to school. This anecdote, along with many others, was shared by the TV3 journalist at a round table discussion organized by the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition, which also included chefs Carme Ruscalleda and Carlota Puigvert, and homemaker Casilda Agenjo. The title was "Women and Gastronomy: Talent Has No Gender," and it was moderated by journalist Antoni Bassas, who also shared a personal anecdote about the aromas of broth that delight his children as soon as they enter the house. All of this took place at theFrancesca Bonnemaison Space, the patron who founded a library to encourage women to leave the house.

The four speakers agreed that In the homes where she had cooked, it was the mothers or grandmothers.“In my house, my mother and great-aunt were in charge of the kitchen, and I, like all girls, was born with the responsibility of helping them too,” explained chef Carme Ruscalleda, the woman with the most Michelin stars in the world. “At a very young age, I started making dinner for the whole family because my mother realized I enjoyed it, while she cooked because it was her job,” she said. Those childhood dinners included beans, of different varieties, and small fish from the beach every night. For her part, chef Carlota Puigvert stated that she was “lucky to eat with her grandmother because her parents worked.” She and her sisters were with their grandmother.They watched her cook and learned patience and how to use up leftovers. "If she cooked beans one day, I'd make sure there would be some the next day," she said, adding that her grandmother also instilled in them a love for what you cook. Casilda Agenjo, a homemaker, said that at first she didn't like to cook, but she wanted to recreate the smells she grew up with in her mother's and grandmother's kitchens.

Large audience for recipes

García Melero also asserted that cooking is of great social interest, at least according to the ratings of the cooking segment of the program he directs for TV3. Everything is movingStarting at 1 p.m., chef Carme Ruscalleda and the Puigvert sisters share recipes, and they notice a large audience due to the flood of questions and inquiries they receive. heNow we eat, By the way, you can also find recipes for both.It was only after the journalist started doing this segment with chefs that she realized her grandmother Rosa's intuition was right. "Carme Ruscalleda tells us that if we make a round cut one day, the next day we can make a sandwich," and that's what her grandmother applied, but back then she thought she "was the odd one out, because everyone at school brought sliced bread for breakfast."

To the question of whether there is a break in the cultural transmission of cooking in homes, Chef Carme Ruscalleda answered yesBecause "in home cooking there has been a change in attitudes, which isn't happening in professional kitchens, where it's guaranteed, with people who have heard the call and fallen in love with the profession." In contrast, people don't cook at home, despite all the available kitchen utensils. "So I say, okay, don't worry, the food industry will cook for you, but then be demanding, know the seasonality of products, and ask the food industry to cook what's in season." Knowing the seasonality of products is linked to knowledge, and this is precisely what will be included in schools. "The subject of cooking and nutrition will be part of the curriculum, because the Government has decided to include it as part of the curriculum," said Ruscalleda, who had always advocated for this, along with chef Ferran Adrià. Both are perhaps among the chefs who have been calling for cooking to be a subject in schools for the longest time.

Finally, the debate linked the architecture of houses with the kitchen. There's a trend of placing kitchens in small spaces, because houses are already small to begin with, and therefore kitchens often only have room for a microwave. "If kitchens used to be separate from the other rooms, and a few years ago they became open and connected to the dining room so that the person cooking wouldn't feel isolated, in the future they will be small spaces, designed only for heating up prepared food," said Garcia Melero, who added that "we will be culturally impoverished if that happens, and we're happy about it, because eating also brings us happiness." In this sense, Casilda Agenjo added that this trend is understandable if you consider how expensive fresh produce is, because the cost of groceries has increased significantly in recent years.

To prevent all this from happening, we must give importance to the kitchen. It's about prioritizing it among daily activities"I tell young couples with children that they are responsible for instilling values in them and helping them discover the flavors of food. At home, they should experience the 40 main flavors of our cuisine, because food should be high on life's list of priorities," said Ruscalleda, who commented that she knows some people spend a great many hours competing. The final minutes of the roundtable discussion were dedicated by the panelists to their favorite recipes. Among them, Agenjo's stood out, as she said her family always asks for her macaroni. Carme Ruscalleda confessed that escudella (a traditional Catalan stew) is what brings everyone together around the family table, even on summer Sundays. And to make it perfectly clear why, Ruscalleda amazed everyone with the detailed recipe for the escudella and the stewed meat.