snackwire: spanish renaissance man cooks at the beard house

For many, the future-forward cooking of Spain's innovative chefs may be a bit esoteric on paper or on a discussion panel, but is usually much easier to understand (i.e enjoy) when you have the chance to eat it. On March 30th, one of Spain's top chefs is cooking at the Beard House. Dr. Miguel Sanchez Romera spends part of his week as a neurologist and the other part as the chef at his restaurant L'Esguard. He also invented Micri, one of those magical new powders (actually a starch derived from yuca and tapioca for making emulsions, as I understand it). If his food is even remotely close to what is pictured in his cookbook, Total Cooking, the meal will be quite spectacular.

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Full press release after the jump. Then go here to try and beg, borrow or steal a seat.

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The James Beard Foundation Introduces

"Beard Presents: Masterpiece Dining"

Miguel Sanchez Romera to Be Guest Chef on March 30, 2007

New York, NY (February 14, 2007) - The James Beard Foundation will launch " Beard Presents: Masterpiece Dining," a new series of once-in-a-lifetime dinners to benefit the James Beard House, on Friday March 30, 2007, with an intimate dinner created by Barcelona-based chef Dr. Miguel Sanchez Romera. Each limited-seating dinner in this series of unique fundraisers will provide a rare opportunity to enjoy the sought-after cuisine of the world's most highly regarded chefs in the historic setting of the James Beard House. 

"The James Beard Foundation is delighted to launch this extraordinary gastronomic series with one of Spain's leading chefs," says Susan Ungaro, President of the James Beard Foundation. "Chef Sanchez Romera's restaurant L'Esguard is one of the toughest reservations to get in Europe."

Titled "Illusion and the Art of Culinary Constructionism: A Self-Portrait for Spring 2007," this will be the first time that Sanchez Romera brings the cuisine of his L'Esguard restaurant to America. By limiting the number of guests to 50, Sanchez Romera is looking to recreate the special full-on sensory gastronomic experience for which he is famous. He is an international culinary sensation revered the world-over by celebrated chefs like Alain Ducasse and David Bouley.

"It's an honor for me cook at the Beard House.  I'm really excited about this dinner because I know the James Beard Foundation is considered the most prominent gastronomic organization in the United States," says Sanchez Romera. "They are very supportive of all my ideas and we're working together to create an experience that will echo L'Esguard, that will honor the new spring season, and ultimately that will speak of the uniqueness of the James Beard House."

Both a chef and a neurologist/neurophysiologist, Sanchez Romera practices what he calls culinary "constructionism," an approach to cooking and eating that engages all the senses and builds on the memories they evoke. Sanchez Romera brings the mind of a scientist and the training of a physician to his creativity in the kitchen.

At a $1,000 for members and $1,250 for non-members – Sanchez Romera's dinner will be the most exclusive dinner ever presented at the Beard House.  Future "Beard Presents: Masterpiece Dining" events will include "Chez Jacques" with Jacques Pépin and "A Night at Rao's" with chef Carla Pellegrino, owner Frank Pellegrino Sr., his son Frankie Jr, and bartender Nick the Vest.

About the James Beard Foundation

Celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year, the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, preserving, and nurturing America's culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today, the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary schools, and publications, and by maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City's Greenwich Village as a "performance space" for visiting chefs. For more information, please visit www.jamesbeard.org.

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