In Galician A Fuxidía means ephemeral and that concept contains the secret of the kitchen of the young chef Martín Fernández, owner of Bágoa Gastrobar and creator of what has been crowned the best hamburger in Spain. In his establishment, located at number 7 Rúa San Miguel in Ourense, Galicia, La efímera is prepared, the only burger that appears on the menu and whose composition constantly varies, depending on the ingredients of the day.
“The hamburger breathes Galicia everywhere,” explains Fernández. The winner of the fourth edition of Burger Combat, which was held this Monday in Madrid, is made with fermented Galician cabbage, in the same way that Korean kimchi is made, and cheeks cooked with red wine, garlic and onion. “Nothing more, many hours, many hours, until it falls apart by itself.” The winning burger also has Galician blonde cutlet meat and Amalia cheese. “It is made by a woman from the Plaza de Abastos named Amalia and she has been making the same cheese for 60 years.”
Singularity is the essence of Martín Fernández’s cuisine. In each creation the chef pays tribute to his grandmother, who took care of him and passed on his passion for cooking. “We are not a hamburger restaurant, but we like to include hamburgers as something more gastronomic.” The ephemera qualifies as ‘gourmet’, according to Fernández, because it reflects the exquisiteness and quality that characterize his grandmother’s Galician cuisine.
Second and third place in this edition of Burger Combat went to two hamburger restaurants in Madrid. The runner-up was the creation presented by chef Ángel Solsona, from the La Demo hamburger restaurant, located in Torrejón de Ardoz. It is called La atrevida, and is made with rustic bread, minced beef aged 90 days, millionaire sauce, Iberian bacon jam and crispy marinated Iberian bacon. The bronze went to Aldo Sebastianelli, from the Mena de Pozuelo de Alarcón restaurant and his Blue Mena Burger. It is made with blue cheese, crispy bacon and red chilli. The most special thing? his presentation. The Blue Mena comes with a mirror to see it from all angles and a small clothesline from which the ingredients that characterize it hang.
Martín Fernández highlighted the importance of having won the contest for the best burger in Spain and believes that it was something that his establishment needed. “People complain if you charge them 12 euros for a hamburger and don’t add fries and drinks.” On its street, it coexists with five other establishments that offer a daily menu for the same price. “In Galicia it is complicated because people tend to eat in abundance, but we try to give value to the product we have.”
The jury for this edition of the Burger Combat contest was made up of chefs Íñigo Urrechu, Nino Redruello and Juan Gómez along with María Jiménez, vice president of the Women in Gastronomy Association; and Mariana Hernández, winner of Burger Combat 2023.
