Before arriving at his restaurant Mina* (Bilbao), Álvaro Garrido visits the markets in the area because he is committed to seasonal produce and kilometre 0. That is why, if in autumn he is known for his game, when summer arrives "80% of our dishes come from the sea". And since theirs is an inshore fishing area, as well as hake and anglerfish, the king of the menu from June to September is white tuna. "I refer to the ones from the end of the summer because I think they are fatter and I can work them better", he explains, showing three exceptional ones from Bermeo, from the first specimen caught by the first boat to arrive in the port of Bermeo.

And before going into the kitchen, he brought Bermeo to Tenerife in the form of a video prepared for the occasion, imitating a reporter who knows what to ask. Thanks to his interviewees, including Aurelio Bilbao, the president of the Federation of Bizkaia Cofradias, we learn that in his country the sea has become a way of life, that in the 1980s there were more than 100 vessels fishing off the coast of Bermeo, and that his ambition is always to promote the value of white tuna, but with a commitment to conscious consumption: "You don't have to sell more, you have to sell better". True to this philosophy, Garrido, who always adapts his cuisine to what the sea has to offer at any given moment, has extolled the health benefits of fish and expressed his concern at the sharp drop in consumption in Spain, "which in 10 years will look like an Anglo-Saxon country", he said, also denouncing the trend towards ready-made products and packaging. "The change is to buy fresh fish," warned a committed chef who prints his menus on recycled brown paper.

The less is more of marinated and smoked tuna

Returning to the extraordinary tuna that travelled with him to Tenerife and that the congress participants were able to taste at the gala dinner yesterday, Álvaro explained that "on the menu we always indicate the number of the specimen to which each piece belongs. We buy an average of 2 or 3 bonito a week and none of them weighs more than 10 kilos". A true master of marinades and smoked fish, he argues that his proposal is based on the need to prepare simple and quick dishes to avoid disappointment, "but they are also creative dishes that sublimate the product and offer numerous textures and sophisticated flavours". And to prove it, he served three magnificent one and a half kilo pieces prepared in different ways, such as a delicious Ondarroa ventresca, marinated for six days and smoked for two hours at 47º, which looked like deliciously infiltrated meat, served with Peruvian chocolate cream, pickled courgettes and piparra powder; a piece of tuna with curada, cauliflower and egg yolk cream, and a tuna smoked with thyme and tempered in the salamander, served with the same juice from the marinade, "because less is more".

Cooking with what the sea has to offer is Mina's premise. Álvaro Garrido goes to the market every day and applies the same philosophy to his seafood cuisine. The Basque chef will be talking to us about how to adapt to what the sea has to offer and how to work with fresh, quality produce first hand.

Originally from Bilbao, Garrido has had a distinguished career in the culinary world, best known for his restaurant Mina in the capital of Vizcaya. Garrido began his culinary training at the Leioa Catering School and has worked in prestigious restaurants in Spain and France under the guidance of great chefs such as Manolo de la Osa, Jordi Butrón, Jean Luc Figueras and Paco Torreblanca, among others. In 2006, however, Álvaro felt the need to open his own restaurant.

But in 2006, Álvaro felt the need to open his own restaurant and, with the help of his wife Lara, they embarked on the Mina adventure. Álvaro Garrido's cuisine is characterised by the use of local and seasonal ingredients, as well as his creativity and attention to detail. His style combines traditional techniques with modern innovations, always respecting the essence of authentic flavours. Under his guidance, Mina offers a gastronomic experience that has been awarded a Michelin star.