Chef Ángel León, at the head of the three-star Aponiente, has just been recognized by the United Nations Organization (FAO) as a ‘Food Hero’ for promoting sustainable seafood cuisine and raising awareness about Water management. This distinction is aimed at people who strive to keep the food chain safe, and last year it went to the Roca brothers for their work in favor of sustainable gastronomy.
In 2008, the organization explains, the Jerez chef captivated the culinary scene by creating the world’s first phytoplankton menu and, later, in 2017, his first bioluminescent cocktail: a mixture with algae that glowed in the dark. But the achievements of this chef do not respond to a need to win stars and fame, but rather to ensure that seafood products that had never been used for this purpose are consumed. Also to show the untapped potential of the oceans when it comes to feeding the planet, they point out.
“It’s crazy to think that we will have to eat crickets or that we should go to the moon to grow lettuce,” the sea chef explained to the FAO. “I believe that the true future of humanity lies in looking towards the sea.” And León defends that most of the flavors found on earth are also found in the oceans, and he has set out to find them. The chef considers that taking advantage of just a few of the products found in the sea is a mistake, taking into account everything he offers us.
To make the world aware of the food possibilities of marine ecosystems, León has been adding ingredients that were previously unknown and unusual to his menus, such as phytoplankton, for years. 15 years ago “the word sounded like 2050, but today it is consumed in 25 countries,” he told the FAO.
Now, one of the chef’s most ambitious projects focuses on a marine cereal, the species zostera marina, a new food full of properties that he has managed to cultivate and harvest. He assures that it is more nutritious than rice and can be irrigated with seawater, and he hopes that one day he will be able to see it on supermarket shelves, when marine agriculture is widespread throughout the world.
The FAO has awarded this distinction to León on the occasion of World Food Day, which is celebrated on October 16. This year’s campaign focuses on water, under the slogan: “Water is life. “Water Nourishes” and calls for global solidarity to raise awareness alongside the ‘Food Heroes’ on how we all need to stop taking access to water for granted and improve the way we use it in our daily lives.
