Chef Álex Múgica has presented the UnzuELA sandwich, a solidarity appetizer in honor of former soccer player Juan Carlos Unzué. This sandwich is now available on the menu of the Navarra College of Physicians restaurant, where with each sale €2 will go to the Navarra Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association (ANELA). The vice president of ANELA, Alberto Armendáriz, expressed his gratitude and assured that “seasoning the quality and experience of chef Álex Múgica with the brave and fighting character of Juan Carlos Unzué can only have an exquisite result.” In addition to dedicating resources to research into this disease, the chef’s goal is to contribute to raising awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Inspired by the flavors that have marked the player’s youth, this skewer “can be eaten in one bite,” said the chef. Unzué shared with Múgica a series of dishes that reminded him of his beginnings and emphasized “those lean sandwiches with tomato and fried egg that his mother prepared for him when he returned from training.” Therefore, to prepare the appetizer, the chef decided to use pani puri, a type of dehydrated bread, filled with “a deconstruction of all the ingredients of the sandwich original”, such as egg, tomato and ham; with a concentrated tomato and egg sauce.
The former goalkeeper and coach was diagnosed with ALS in 2020 and since then he has faced the disease “like a true leader,” declared chef Álex Múgica. The athlete also fights for the approval of the ALS law in Spain, so that the state recognizes the aid and rights to those affected by the disease.
“There are people who are forced to die due to an economic issue and I believe that as a society we should not allow this,” the former player expressed to the media during the presentation of the ‘UnzuELA’ sandwich.
In Spain, according to the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), ALS is the third most common neurodegenerative disease, behind Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Every year, about 700 people begin to develop symptoms and 50% die in less than 3 years from the onset of the disease. It is one of the main causes of disability in the country and one of the diseases with the highest socio-health costs.
