The difference between eating and nourishing yourself, explained at a party

Every forced act becomes unpleasant. The phrase, attributed to Aristotle, finds an exception in the act of eating. Feeding oneself is a biological imperative, a necessary refueling, but enjoying while eating… Ah, that is a different matter. Even more: that sensation, which naturally occurs both when dipping the spoon into grandma’s stew and when feeling the spheres burst upon closing the mouth, becomes an exercise in hedonism when the click happens: the moment of awareness. The Comer channel of La Vanguardia celebrated its tenth anniversary last night at the Azul restaurant, by Romain Fornell: “This is a night to eat, drink, and laugh with an incredible team of editors and collaborators who approach gastronomy in a transversal way. We try to tell stories about people to get to know them more intimately. This is a night to be happy,” says its director, journalist Cristina Jolonch.

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Cristina Jolonch, whose name is a magic word for the attention of any professional in the field, resists appearing in this text beyond the obligatory mention. But it is impossible. The most renowned chefs approach her like bees to honey only to end up paying toll at this keyboard: Albert Adrià, Joan Roca, Carme Ruscalleda, Sergio Torres, Paco Pérez, Carles Abellán and Natalia Juan, Òscar Manresa, Carles Gaig, Fina Puigdevall and, naturally, the host, Romain Fornell. The mayor Jaume Collboni also attended. “Cristina Jolonch is the best advocate for our work; she is a person to listen to and who has a gift: she never judges and always supports.” At that moment, the director of Comer interrupts the dialogue embarrassed. “No no no, I don’t want you to talk about me!”. Noblesse oblige.

Sergio Torres, one half of the Torres brothers, insists on not making it easy for the boss: “Cristina has a special talent; besides being a wonderful person, I have met very few people who can express so well what our world means.” While Marlo, the most attentive member any hospitality team could want in its ranks, assists the author of this text, it is the turn of Carles Abellán and Natalia Juan: at the helm of the successful Casa Natalia (Formentera), the couple bets on gastronomic journalism against that uncomfortable cloud of influencers who pretend to understand but end up being simple gluttons with more face than backbone.

Paco Pérez values the Comer channel as a path that allows knowing the most human side of gastronomy. “People who were already interested looked through this window and now see and know it in a different way. This channel sheds light on people who represent this profession at all levels, also on a personal level.”

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Carme Ruscalleda endorses the introduction of this chronicle: “We cannot live without eating, but sitting down to eat is a playful, pleasurable, and cultural act that also supports a primary sector we must take care of.” During the evening, a video with the documentaries of Comer is shown. “With Samuel Aranda, World Press Photo 2011 winner, we started the series Sin reservas during the pandemic by visiting the homes of chefs and getting to know them more closely,” explains Jolonch, a queen of the dance who distributes a crown she does not want among all present.

“Tonight is the anniversary of Comer and a celebration of Catalan gastronomy. And we are all here having a good time, which is also what it’s about,” confirms Albert Adrià. That “all” implies an implicit meaning: the chefs get along very well with each other. “There is rivalry, yes, but respect far surpasses it,” Adrià clarifies, drawing an arc around with his blue gaze. Christian Escribà nods behind his characteristic plastic glasses while swallowing wagyu cecina a second before a jovial Òscar Manresa joins the conversation. “We celebrate a project that dignifies the profession, the kitchen, and that gives us a voice to reach the public,” points out the chef. “And also the work of Cristina herself, for everything she does. She is an essential figure in gastronomic journalism.” And so, while the reader finishes the chronicle, the director of Comer becomes small at the same time for genuine and pure embarrassment: happy that her creation turns ten years old, she insists that only she is the protagonist of the party.

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